General Director of women’s affairs in the Governor’s Office of South Khorassan Province (northeast Iran) said the number of female beggars has increased 11 per cent in the first six months of this year, only in South Khorassan Province.
Speaking to a meeting in Birjand, Mojgan Sharifi said the average age of addiction in the province has dropped to 13 and expressed concern over feminization of addiction in South Khorassan. She said 60 per cent of the female prisoners are charged with drug-related crimes, while 55 per cent of the divorces in the province are rooted in addiction.
(state-run Mehr news agency, November 22, 2015)