by WorldTribune Staff, June 24, 2016

Iran’s government is turning a blind eye as prostitution and sex trafficking in the Islamic Republic skyrockets, a report said.

In the past year, 32 brothels were discovered in various locations around Teheran, with most women going into prostitution due to extreme poverty, according to a report by Moj News Agency. A psychologist who contributed to the report and said that many women are being sold by their husbands into prostitution “in order to make ends meet.”

The psychologist also claimed more than 100 young girls in Teheran make between 2 and 20 dollars per client, and that 35 percent of prostitutes in Iran are married women who have children.

“Prostitution and sex trafficking mostly take place in Teheran, with the number of women working in the profession growing in large numbers,” said the report, which said the issue is not “spoken about” by the government.

“The parliament must take the situation seriously and help us raise awareness before we get to a more dangerous situation,” the psychologist warned.

Many women in Teheran are involved in so-called “pleasure marriages,” which are temporary couplings recognized by Shi’ite Islam to conceal the fact that they are engaged in prostitution, the report said.

The temporary marriages are decided upon by men, without the woman’s consent and are usually accompanied by a payment given by the man.

“The arrangement is often made with women facing trying economic or social situations in exchange for sexual favors,” the report said.

“When [these women] become pregnant, the babies are abandoned on the street and later used for other purposes,” the psychologist said.

  ‘pleasure marriages’, Report: Prostitution booming in Iran as men sell wives to make ends meet, sex trafficking, WorldTribune.com