Womens Rehab Clinic in Tehran, a sign of changing times

Women's rehab clinic in Tehran

Transportation of opium from Afghanistan through Iran means there is a growing number of drug abuse amongst the population of Iran. The statistics vary but it is estimated that 3 million of the 27 million population abuse drugs, with 700,000 being women.
Drug abuse is against Islamic values and certainly for women. In a country were women are often oppressed, women who abuse drugs face an even greater challenge. Razeih Khodadoust, the director general of the State Welfare Organization states that “The addiction of women to drugs is a trick by or enemies to attack Islamic values of Iranian families." 
This article is about the women's rehab clinic on the outskirts of Tehran.  The grassroots clinic has been open for 2 years and is all run by women, with little financial support. This is an example of growing women's activism despite the risks.
Since the 1979 revolution the rights of women have been restricted to be in line with Islamic law. Some of the issues included unfair divorce and custody laws, pressure to wear the hijab, increased prostitution and domestic violence. Feminists fighting the oppression are restricted by laws to prohibit advocacy and public discussion of women's issues. Despite many oppressive laws there are also some reforms for women in the decades after the revolution, for example in education where enrolments rates in primary education are equal. Women in higher education are also on the rise, in fact one third of medical school students are female. The framework around women's rights is characterised by "equality-with-difference" which can be interpreted in different ways. However as long as equal education is condoned I think we will continue to see a rise in women's activism, such as this grassroots women rehab clinic in Tehran.