The Anti-Drug Task Force advisor on women and family affairs reported on Wednesday March 5 that 55 percent of female drug addicts are married.
IRNA reports that Zahra Bonyanian told a meeting of the Anti-Drug Force: “These women have been forced into addiction because their spouses wanted to prevent them from getting a divorce.”
A husband’s drug addiction is a valid ground for his wife to obtain a divorce under Islamic Republic law.
Bonyanian reported that of the 1.325 million drug addicts in Iran, 9.3 percent are women, with the youngest being anywhere from 15 to 19 years of age.
Bonyanian said the statistics are cause for serious concern, adding that 60 percent of women in prisons have been convicted of drug charges.
