In the chaos of virtual platforms and social networks in Iran, digital fortune tellers and diviners with thousands of followers make colorful promises of changing fate to desperate, vulnerable individuals, essentially launching a “dream-selling business”. Women, especially in marginalized and low-income communities, are the main targets of these promises. In fact, fortune telling and divination, under the guise of “spiritual counseling”, “opening up luck”, “breaking spells”, and “predicting the future”, not only destroy the economy of families, but also violate the basic rights of women and reinforce the cycle of vulnerability.

Ramali on Instagram.

Find the problems in society and offer solutions for them; even if they are not real! This is the role of fortune tellers, palm readers, and diviners. Financial and emotional problems, as two examples of the most important issues, are trapping women in the center of this trade. In recent years, social networks, palm reading, divination, and fortune telling have moved from the sidelines of the streets to the digital life. These individuals now target their audience using modern marketing tools. The techniques and tools of marketing for dream sales to women are different. Some of the more up-to-date palm readers, using artificial intelligence and searching through social network pages and messages, offer personalized suggestions based on the users’ messages, moods, and spirits. On the other hand, fortune tellers, palm readers, and diviners, in collaboration with bloggers or influencers, gain social credibility and expand their business by creating fake advertising videos using popular or attention-grabbing figures in society.

Dark economy: The costs that women pay.

Fortune-telling, divination, and palm reading in Iran, especially in recent years, have turned into an underground business worth hundreds of billions of tomans due to increasing economic and social problems and the widespread use of user-centered communication tools and social networks. However, the costs imposed on society go beyond just the direct exchange of money between fortune-tellers, palm readers, and customers.

Women in low-income families may reduce their children’s food share or medical expenses to cover funeral costs. In some cases, it has even been heard that they have taken out loans to pay for such expenses.

Some fortune tellers or diviners prevent women from using methods of pregnancy prevention and consider it a violation of divine will. They also often attribute domestic violence to “witchcraft” and discourage women from seeking legal action. These two examples show how this trade has become a tool for perpetuating gender inequalities. Worse still, reports of sexual abuse by fortune tellers, diviners, and soothsayers use various excuses that make women vulnerable and exacerbate their mental and emotional problems.

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In order to break the cycle of online scams and fortune-telling through virtual platforms, multi-layered, coordinated and complementary actions are necessary. Legal measures that lead to the permanent closure of fraudulent and deceptive pages related to this business are important. In addition, social actions such as establishing free counseling centers and creating accessible support centers in marginalized areas can be a solution.

With all this, we must not forget that the root of superstition lies in the lack of real hopeful mechanisms. In societies where citizens see themselves as insignificant in shaping their destiny, resorting to magic and fortune-telling is the only remaining way to feel in control of their lives, and women suffer the most in this path. Fortune-telling in Iran today is no longer an “old tradition”; social networks have turned it into a tool for the systematic exploitation of women. Fighting against this phenomenon requires the cooperation of the government and civil society. But most importantly, turning “false hope” into “real hope” through access to education, counseling, and economic opportunities is crucial.