Year: 2013

One

The things that are mentioned in the text of Islamic laws or by representatives in the parliament, cannot be found even in the darkest corners of the most corrupt and deviant minds. Dear parliament, with the approval of the Guardian Council, passed a law allowing marriage between a stepfather and stepdaughter. Even the real stepfathers in Sicily who commit all kinds of crimes such as murder, theft, and fraud, never thought that their name would be associated with such shame. The issue is not just about a law being written somewhere in Islam, the story is about how this nation always discovers the parts related to abuse from the depths of history and with the utmost determination and unity, they make it happen!

Three

Recently, it has been proven that even with countless media and clear and obvious evidence, you can still publicly lie and receive 45,000 likes. Now, let’s assume that “Ahmadinejad, who denied the Holocaust, is gone,” but the Supreme Leader on his website called the Holocaust a myth that is still clearly available in Persian and 12 other infidel languages. However, Mr. Zarif announced in an interview with ABC America that this is not the case and a translation mistake has occurred. Meaning, for example, the original text was: “The Holocaust myth is one of the Jewish veiled sisters.” which has been translated as: “The Holocaust myth never happened.”

Four

The nation that for years has been humiliated for the color of their clothes, the height of their coat, and the material of their scarf, protested by posting pictures of their jeans in response to Netanyahu’s words: “The Iranian nation cannot wear jeans!” This is truly a revolutionary move. Did you wear jeans in the Ministry of Guidance or were you waiting for a taxi in Azadi Square? It would be great if the officers, who throw the people into vans day and night and take pictures of them like murderers, would have a little empathy and start a campaign for them.

“When President John F. Kennedy, fifty years ago, was striving for peace, he said to the Irish Parliament: “The problems of the world cannot be solved by the doubts or negativity of those who have limited horizons and are faced with obvious realities. Today, we need men who have dreams of things that have never been and ask why not?”

Today, people are increasingly wishing for a world without poverty. In April, the Development Committee at the World Bank announced the goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030.

Recently, the United Nations General Assembly’s Sustainable Development Goals group also expressed their opinion: “Eradicating poverty in the world is a lofty but achievable goal.” As someone who wrote in 2005, our generation is one that can put an end to extreme poverty, and I am proud to see this idea taking root at the highest levels.

Are these just illusions of haste, confusion, and rooted in the struggles and changes in the weather, or is the widespread trend towards the idea that has recently emerged from real things? The evidence supports the optimistic view. The evidence also supports both perspectives; both the perspective of those who value the market and the perspective of those who believe more in the strategy of public ownership (meaning national ownership or the Scandinavian model of social democracy where all major companies are national, unlike America where everything, including the military, is made up of private cartels). These are essentially appendages of a content.

The global image will definitely amaze negative-minded people. According to the World Bank report, the number of households living below the poverty line in developing countries (currently measured at $1.25 per person per day based on international prices) has been decreasing rapidly; from 52% in 1980, to 43% in 1990, and 21% in 2010; even the countries in sub-Saharan Africa, which have the highest poverty rates, have experienced a significant decrease from 58% in 1999 to 49% in 2010.

Indicators are prominently present in the field of health. According to the latest UNICEF study in September 2013, the mortality rate of children under five in Africa has decreased from 177 deaths per thousand births in 1990 to 155 deaths per thousand births in 2000 and to 98 deaths per thousand births in 2012. The indicators are still high, but progress is accelerating.

When there is no suspicion in the mentioned statistics, the question will be: How can we ensure improvement in income, health, and other dimensions of poverty eradication (in addition to access to education, safe drinking water, electricity, and sanitation) will continue until the end of extreme poverty in the world. It must be acknowledged that heated debates and arguments usually generate more heat than light.

The foundation and basis is economic growth, and therefore the market economy is vital. Poverty in Africa has decreased, due to the fact that the economic growth rate has increased from 3.2% in the black years of 1970 to 2000, to 7.5% in the period of 2000 to 2010. Without economic growth, stability in income and health improvement cannot be achieved. Continued progress is dependent on major infrastructure – water, electricity, and waste management – which in turn requires financial support from the private sector on a large scale and, of course, a suitable market framework.

Therefore, anti-market sentiments do not have a positive impact on reducing poverty, while a free market approach will not be suitable either. Economic growth and poverty reduction cannot be achieved solely through a free market. Disease control, public education, advancement and introduction of new knowledge and technologies, and environmental protection are public functions (meaning that they should be carried out with the participation of the public). It is obvious that when we talk about a free market, the opposite point in this world is the presence of the government in the economic sphere. Therefore, these public functions should be combined with private market activities.

Consider two key points in recent poverty reduction: first, the introduction of mobile phones, which has revolutionized communication and many other aspects, from remote villages in Africa to the streets of Manhattan, New York.

Furthermore, smartphones have aided in the transfer of knowledge, medical care, financial matters, and agricultural supply chains. The control of malaria has become possible through the use of new technologies, the introduction of long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets, rapid diagnostic tests, and a new generation of effective drugs, all of which have had a crucial impact on reducing poverty in Africa.

In both cases, the presence of the private sector is necessary, not only for innovation and development of technologies, but also because this sector is able to promote and distribute these achievements in the short term. Hundreds of millions of mobile phones and mosquito nets have helped reduce poverty in rural areas in recent years.

Now the private sector also holds a sensitive position; public budgets are essential for sciences and development of technologies. A global budget is necessary to combat diseases such as AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. The agency supported by the international community has played a crucial role in the widespread distribution of mosquito nets, resulting in a 30% reduction in malaria. Mobile phone applications, supported by both the public and private sectors, are widely used by healthcare workers.

It can be said that the fight to end poverty actually helps create a new form of integrated capitalism. Old debates between public and private spheres have now been replaced by new strategies that encompass both. The need for both is now more urgent, as climate change and water scarcity continue to worsen. It will also prove that the belief in bold global goals requires bold actions, and that pessimism and negativity are wrong. A world committed to ending extreme poverty will have effective creativity and will take action.

As Kennedy stated half a century ago: “By clearly defining our goals – by emphasizing more control and reducing disparities – we can help everyone see it and draw hope from it and move forward in an unbreakable way.”

Jeffrey Sachs: Economist, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, and Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General on the Millennium Development Goals and several African countries, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda.

Geoffrey Sachs, who has a high influence in the world of politics and fame, introduced his most important and ambitious project called “The Millennium Villages Project” in 2005. According to this project, he promised to fight against the root causes of poverty in these areas by creating a series of villages as a model for the rest of Africa. It was planned that these villages would demonstrate the impact of targeted actions in providing healthcare, education, and employment, which keep many people in the world trapped in poverty. This project has had many supporters and opponents so far, especially from a methodological perspective.

The translation of the Farsi text is: “The image on the right.”
A hypothetical image of a Neanderthal human.

When it comes to punishment, the first and most important element of this social reaction towards phenomena that society deems deserving of a strong response is purposefulness and achieving a predetermined outcome, not a sense of revengefulness. Mahatma Gandhi says: “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” If the intention is to commit the same wrongdoing in response to another deviant act, there is no need for knowledge of the law. Vengefulness and animosity do not require knowledge or education.

In this discourse, which condemns the punishment of execution, it can be proven through the “functions of criminal law” that in today’s world, “execution” and depriving a person of their life have been excluded from the category of punishments and have been formulated as a futile reaction by the legislator and out of a sense of retribution. However, by comparing crimes in terms of their impact on society, the punishment of execution can be challenged against other punishments such as exile and imprisonment. Furthermore, by referring to statistics and existing documents, it can be proven that abolishing the punishment of execution does not harm society. Nevertheless, we will examine and investigate this topic by posing a question and searching for an answer, under the title of another challenging issue.

Does anyone have the right to take the life of their fellow human being?

This is a picture of a beautiful garden.

United States of America – Washington D.C. – 1865.
Alexander Gardner – Daily Mail

To answer this question, it is necessary to first briefly discuss the history of the death penalty. The death penalty is one of the oldest and most primitive forms of punishment that humans have learned and applied towards their own kind. In primitive societies, the Neanderthal man (Homo neanderthalensis) resorted to actions to punish their own kind and to intimidate others from committing acts that were not approved or welcomed by them, or that threatened their territory, authority, or ownership. This was done in order to prevent their own kind from repeating such acts and to warn others not to engage in such actions.

The most basic punishment was physical punishment – inflicting bodily harm through external means or otherwise. This punishment was initially carried out by powerful and physically strong individuals within the primitive tribe or society towards others. Gradually, this primitive society (the community of Neanderthals) expanded to the point where the number of strong and powerful individuals with higher physical abilities than others increased, to the extent that the situation went beyond the control of previous strong individuals and physical punishments such as beatings and injuries could no longer prevent other human actions.

This is an image caption.
Canada – Quebec – 1902 (Wikipedia)

Therefore, for the first time and after the first serious confrontation with their own kind, humans learn a truth called murder or “killing others”. Murder becomes an effective and irreplaceable tool for preserving individual and tribal interests under the control of a powerful individual. This is while “rights” have not yet entered the realm of existence and Neanderthals could not live under rational and collective reasoning. After the transition from primitive humans to Cro-Magnon humans (intelligent humans and the ones that current humans (Homo sapiens) descend from) and with the advancement of human awareness and understanding of their surroundings, humans learn that in order to continue living in society, it is necessary to abide by rules and laws – under any name or title. Therefore, intelligent humans (Cro-Magnons) created the first legal rules against powerful and Neanderthal humans in order to reduce their power and share the privileges that were previously only reserved for a few individuals with others. Although these initial legal

This is an image caption.

France – Paris – 1642.
The effect of Johann Laiken – National Library of France.

Basically, this “homophobia” has not been condemned for a long time and human society has completely accepted it as a normal behavior and norm; just like gender discrimination. Gender discrimination has also existed throughout history in human society until intellectuals and thinkers realized that equality is essential for human social life, not discrimination. Therefore, they reacted to it and guided society towards gender equality. Hence, opposing “execution” is like opposing “gender discrimination” and is the result of human growth and consciousness to preserve the foundations of the societies in which they live.

With this explanation, agreeing to the implementation of the death penalty based on the opinions of tyrants and dictators leaves no room for defense. No wise person is willing to replace the thought of despotism with progress and rationality.

The caption is not provided. Please provide the Farsi text to be translated.
Iran – Kurdistan – 1979 (Jahangir Razmi – Wall Street Journal)

So if those who support the right to take away life do not believe in the will of dictators, on what basis and under what authority do they give themselves the right to insist on taking away the lives of their fellow human beings, with any justification?

The answer to religious rights goes back. Religions have sentenced humans to murder and deprivation of life in many cases. In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, there are various laws in this regard, and many of these laws are still practiced in human societies. In other words, the right to take the life of a fellow human being, according to this group, is a permission that has been granted to them by God; although many followers of these religions have denied this right and have written criticisms and books to reject it. But the reality is that the rights and laws that have heavenly and earthly roots, and the laws that are based on supernatural logic, are not subject to rational debate and argument.

This is a picture of a beautiful garden.

Ottoman Empire – Constantinople 1915.
Armen Wegner – National Institute of Armenia

This is while we live on Earth and our earthly society follows the earthly rules that we have interpreted and formulated ourselves. Humans have gradually learned that they must live peacefully in society and with other members of the community, and the principle of “peaceful coexistence” should take the place of authoritarian and transcendental thoughts. We have learned that murder and other violence destroy the foundations of life and coexistence. Without life, coexistence has no meaning; although all religions may decree otherwise. If a person has come to the conclusion that, for example, drinking water is necessary for human health, even if all religions deny it and identify it as harmful to human health, following it will have dire consequences for us.

Human life has been given to them by a truth other than humans. Even if we are atheists and non-believers, we must accept that the right to life has been given to humans by the universe. Humans and human societies have not given life to each other in order to be able to take it away.

This text does not have a translation as it is a caption for an image and does not contain any meaningful words or sentences.
Nazi Germany – 19

Criminal rights today, not only seek revenge, but also do not intend to harm the criminal in carrying out punishments. The goal of modern criminal rights is to achieve specific goals in order to preserve the principle of peaceful coexistence of individuals in society. Based on this, the criminal is deprived of some of the rights he has in society in order to achieve this goal. For example, a criminal who has committed theft is sent to prison and during his imprisonment, various educational programs are used to try to rehabilitate the criminal. The aim is for the individual to become a trusted and productive member of society after serving his sentence and continue his peaceful life with others. Therefore, criminal rights – in a broad sense – cannot take away something that has not been given to individuals by society. Can a father-child relationship be taken away?

It is possible to prevent a father from seeing his child due to his involvement in deviant behaviors, but no one can ever take away the relationship between a father and child. Even after their death, this relationship remains. This example shows why the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes the right to life as an inseparable principle of a free human being.

This is a caption for the attached image.
Shuravi – Petrishiva (executed by the Nazis) – 1941

Every year on October 10th, in commemoration of the World Day Against the Death Penalty, hundreds of articles are written and dozens of conferences and speeches are held all over the world. Unfortunately, in our country, due to the sensitivity of the issue, especially in regards to retribution and religious laws, it is not possible to hold such sessions and activities. They even use the tactic that the public opinion in Iran is also in favor of the death penalty for serious crimes and use democratic justifications to deprive critics of the right to discuss this issue. But let’s not forget that the people of countries claiming to uphold human rights, such as France, were also in favor of the death penalty until 1981. Let us not forget that 63% of the French people, a few years after the abolition of the death penalty, demanded its reinstatement and even today, when a heinous crime occurs in this country, some people take to the streets and demand the execution of these

It should not be forgotten that the wise and intellectuals of society guide the community towards a long and difficult path to happiness. In the 1940s in Iran, the Iranian thinker, Dr. Mehrangiz Manouchehrian, wrote her doctoral thesis in the field of law, on women’s rights in Iran. In this thesis, she fully challenged the entirety of Iranian civil law – which was based on Islamic jurisprudence and in conflict with women’s human rights – and brought it to light.

In response to his message, Ayatollah Morteza Motahhari was compelled to interpret the book on women’s rights in Islam in order to possibly provide an answer to this intellectual reaction.

Thoughts and beliefs like those of Dr. Manuchehrian were the ones that prepared Iranian society for accepting gender equality today, and the issue of gender equality is being taken very seriously in the country; otherwise, our traditional society may have never even considered it for years to come.

Regarding the death penalty, the same principle applies; when individuals like Dr. Mostafa Rahimi in the late 1950s translated “The United Nations Report on the Death Penalty” by Mark Ansel into Persian and showed the Iranian society that peaceful coexistence can be maintained without resorting to this useless reaction. As a result, it was the progressive thoughts and beliefs of people like him that we are now witnessing valuable works such as the book “The Right to Life” by Emad al-Din Baghi.

There is no Farsi text provided to translate. Please provide the text to be translated.

Iran- West Azerbaijan- 2008.
(Farsi) translates to (Persian) in English.

…and I know,

If I make a lawn.

I will die ….

Sohrab Sepehri.

There is no Farsi text provided to translate. Please provide the Farsi text for translation.

Poverty is defined as the lack of “reliable and sustainable access” to basic necessities of life, which include: healthy and sufficient food and drinks, clothing, housing (including water, electricity, and heating), education, healthcare, and communication. Therefore, temporary and unreliable access to these necessities does not classify individuals as living above the poverty line. Having enough food for a few days or months does not mean that individuals do not face challenges in terms of food security.

The necessities of life in today’s world are not just the essentials for survival from one day to another, but they are necessary for the continuation of life with dignity and respect. In today’s circumstances, without public education, universal healthcare, and the ability to move and communicate, this dignified life cannot be guaranteed. Therefore, economists do not limit the measurement of a person’s needs to only 2000 calories per day or winter clothing and a roof over their head.

Absolute poverty and relative poverty in Iran.

Economists and sociologists focus on social inequality and poverty to distinguish between two situations: being in a state of death (lack of access to basic necessities) and not living a normal and prosperous life. They divide poverty into absolute poverty and relative poverty. This distinction also applies to policy-making and election campaigns.

Taking into account this distinction, we come to two different categories in terms of statistics about Iran. The common denominator of reports by government and non-governmental economists in 2013 regarding relative poverty for a family of four in urban areas was 1.4 million tomans, and in rural areas was 840 thousand tomans. In 2013, this figure was not announced by government institutions, but the lowest figure for the previous year was announced by the head of the Competition Council as 980 thousand tomans for urban households and 580 thousand tomans for rural households (Khabar Online, July 1, 2012). By adding approximately 40% inflation, we will reach the mentioned numbers. Some university researchers had announced the poverty line for urban households as 1.5 million tomans in 2012 (Hossein Raghefar, Etemad, May 6, 2012).

In 2010, it was announced that 10 million people in the country were living below the absolute poverty line and 47 million people were living below the relative poverty line (Head of Statistics Center, ISNA, May 27, 2010). These numbers must have increased in the past three years due to the unemployment crisis and recession in the country. Based on these figures, approximately two-thirds of the country’s population live below the poverty line.

Inevitable poverty or escapable poverty

Poverty in Iran is inevitable for many social classes because the national economy does not have the necessary capacity to create jobs. It is not that there is not enough work in the country and people refrain from going to work or do not have the necessary skills to do the work. Poverty is the inevitable fate of many people who are born in certain places or families. In addition, poverty in Iran is not just seasonal (widespread among people due to droughts or other natural factors) or situational (poverty caused by structural issues and limited to a specific group).

Mass poverty: A debt of 1000 trillion tomans.

Hashemi Rafsanjani, in one of his critical speeches towards the Ahmadinejad government, revealed a long kept secret. He openly announced the amount of government debt: “Currently, the government owes the people 500 trillion tomans. Additionally, 200 trillion tomans to banks, 50 trillion tomans for participation papers, and 200 billion tomans for unpaid wages of companies and contractors.” (Mehr, 7 Ordibehesht 1392) This means that every Iranian citizen (assuming a population of 76 million) currently has a debt of around 13 million tomans within the framework of the government.

At the beginning of Ahmadinejad’s government in August 2005, the government’s debt to banks and financial institutions was only 3 trillion and 174 billion tomans, which over the course of seven years increased 64 times to approximately 200 trillion tomans at the end of last Azar month.

The reasons for this alarming increase in government expenses include excessive spending and money laundering, foreign aid for satellite development, military interventions in the region, and the pursuit of a very costly nuclear program. For example, according to the International Monetary Fund’s report from 2005 to 2013, the Iranian government has increased its annual expenses by an average of 21%, which is more than 5% higher than the official inflation rate during this period, despite a slow economic growth rate. Additionally, government expenses in Iran have risen from 30 trillion tomans in 2004 to 151 trillion tomans in 2013. (Khabar Online, April 16, 2013)

Negative economic growth and corruption

The poverty situation becomes more severe when economic growth reaches zero or a negative number, while inflation is also above forty percent and income growth does not reach this level: “Despite the high inflation rate, the purchasing power of workers has decreased by 60 to 70 percent.” (Mohammad Ahmadi, member of the Supreme Council of Labor, Mehr, August 2, 2013) According to government sources, economic growth reached a negative 5.4 percent in 1392 (2013-2014).

One of the factors that have contributed to the increase in poverty in society, apart from the decline in economic growth, is structural corruption in the public sector (government, state and municipalities), especially in the past eight years. In the area of corruption, the Ahmadinejad government has set new records in the disappearance of oil revenues (up to 12 billion dollars in some years), the disappearance of money in banks (33 billion dollars, Jahane Sanat, 22 January 2013), excessive spending, low-interest bank loans that have not been returned or paid (up to 70 trillion tomans), and vote-buying, which amounted to 9 trillion tomans in 2009 (Ali Asghari, Khabar Online, 9 December 2012).

Renting instead of buying a house.

The statistics announced by the National Union of Real Estate Consultants indicate an increase in the number of housing rental contracts in the country. In 2012, more than 547,000 rental contracts were signed, which is an increase of over 56% compared to 2011. In 2011, approximately 350,000 rental agreements were registered in the country, which is an increase of 50,000 compared to the previous year.

In comparison, in the past four years, the rental contract has had the lowest amount of registration in 88 and this statistic has reached its highest level in the past year. During the years 88 to 91, 91 was the year with the most registered rental contracts. There are multiple reasons for this increase, including population growth, increase in marriages, and migration to major cities (ISNA, April 18, 2013) while people have gradually lost their purchasing power.

Breaking the back of medical expenses.

In Iran, incurable diseases such as diabetes and cancer have been on the rise in society: there are seven million diabetic patients in Iran (Tabnak, November 15, 2012); cancer is the third leading cause of death after cardiovascular diseases and accidents, with 85,000 cases being diagnosed annually. (Etemad, July 24, 2012)

The costs of treating diseases that require surgery and hospitalization, as well as incurable diseases, have increased to the point that patients have to sell all their savings or even their homes for treatment. “In the past year, the tariffs of various hospital departments have seen a worrying increase, to the point that in the health sector, tariffs of government hospitals have increased by about 53% and private hospitals by about 70%.” (Deputy Chairman of the Health and Treatment Commission of the Parliament, Mehr, April 19, 2013)

In the years 88 to 89, statistics showed that approximately 2.5 to 4 percent of the country’s population, who were unable to afford the high costs of treating serious illnesses, were forced to sell their belongings and fall below the poverty line. This number reached 7.5 percent in the years 90 to 91. This has resulted in the decline of 6 to 7.5 million people from the total population of the country due to the alarming increase in treatment costs, pushing them below the poverty line. (Mehr, 31 Farvardin 1392)

“The medical fees for general practitioners in the public sector this year have increased by 400% compared to the fees in 1383, while the fees for general practitioners in the private sector have increased by 700% in comparison to 1383… The fees for general practitioners in both the public and private sectors have increased by 550% from 83 to 92, specialists by 757%, subspecialists by 881%, and psychiatrists by 1126%.” (Shargh, 1 Ordibehesht 1392) These costs, which families are forced to pay and even if they have insurance, the insurance only covers a portion of them, also decrease the purchasing power of households.

I’m sorry, I cannot translate this text as it is not provided. Please provide the Farsi text for translation. Thank you.

If we consider the three categories of topics mentioned in this text, namely structural causes of poverty (such as government debt, negative economic growth), factors leading to poverty (high medical expenses) and signs of poverty (renting instead of buying a home) in Iran, we will see that the issue of poverty in Iran is not a problem that can be easily solved. There is also no visible solution in sight. The Islamic Republic governments have never had effective policies to reduce poverty. Even the government that came to power claiming to fight poverty – the Ahmadinejad government – ultimately created even more poverty when it left. Distributive justice policies have only led to the distribution of poverty.