Why did Iran change the slogan of its reproductive policy from “fewer children, better life” to “spring does not come with a single flower”?

TEHRAN -

The birth control policies in Iran have changed over the past decades, as have the government's slogans from "fewer children, better life", which it adopted three decades ago, to "spring does not come with a single rose" (the rose symbolizes the child) in our current decade, which is a slogan Urges to have more children.

The population growth rate at the beginning of the Islamic Revolution (1980-1990) was around 3-4%, and according to the head of the Population Policy Committee of the Supreme Council for Cultural Revolution - Muhammad Jawad Mahmoudi - the population growth rate was 0.6% last year, and it is expected that this rate will reach to zero in another 15 years, and in 30 years from now a third of Iran's population could be over 60 years old.

Therefore, in recent years, the country’s officials have sought to improve this situation and unveil the implementation of “Hammam” (meaning “partner” in Persian), which was recently revealed as the first officially licensed permanent marriage program in Iran, in line with the policy of facilitating marriage for young people and encouraging childbearing.

About the app

And the application of "Hammdam" was developed by the Tebyan Cultural Foundation, which ranks itself as the largest group of Islamic propaganda organization (under the supervision of the Supreme Leader) in the field of information and communication technology.

The application provides some services such as searching for a partner for singles, counseling services, psychological tests, self-awareness, and “online” (electronic) magazines. It also provides educational content through videos, podcasts, infographics and various articles for young people and families.

To use the application, you must first register and enter personal details and complete information such as education, occupation, family circumstances, personal specifications, standards, individual desires and skills, economic status, as well as fill out psychological test forms, and create a user profile.

Then, based on the person's characteristics and desires, and based on his personality, thoughts and beliefs, the application will nominate the most suitable person who has the greatest harmony with his circumstances and standards, and will provide details and information about the other party.

The application of Hammam (partner / e in Persian), which was recently announced, is the first official licensed marriage program in Iran (communication sites)

performance and reliability

The Vice President of Tebyan Innovation - Ali Reza Dahfuli - indicated that when operating this platform, users can read the basic specifications of the other party, and then send an identification request to it.

Dahfuli added, "If the other party agrees, they automatically move to the ID, to review the requirements of both parties, and if approved, contact the families to introduce them to each other."

On how to verify the specifications that users enter on the system, Dhfuli also mentioned that “authentication is done online through government systems, and no one can log in with a fake account, and as a result any performance is monitored and no one will be able to misuse the program.”

Also, no one in this application can see different options at the same time, it shows him only one option, and if he rejects it, the next option is shown (which is available for all different religions and sects in Iran).

Roots of the problem

Dr. Nazanin Zahra Rasouli, a psychologist and marriage counselor, says in this regard, "It is good to provide a platform for young people to identify and communicate with each other in a disciplined, fact-based and credible manner, but you cannot rely on these programs to solve the problems of young people's marriage."

And Dr. Rasouli noted - in her speech to Al Jazeera Net - that "the major problems in the marriage of young people currently are the difficulty of obtaining a job, the deteriorating economy, and financial instability. If these problems are not resolved, such programs will not have a significant impact, and perhaps the most important thing that can be presented in this The context is to educate and explain the philosophy of marriage to young people."

Concerns and criticism

Some pioneers of social networking sites believe that since the social space in Iran is generally open and communication is wide, the application loses its influence or desire for marriage, and the problem lies largely in the management of life after marriage.

In the same context, others are concerned about putting their personal, family and professional information in the program in general, and the Iranian servers in particular, for fear of their information being compromised.

Amir Arslan (a young man in his thirties), one of the users of the application, says that the method used by the program to search for a life partner is not new, as this process was and still takes place through student committees in universities, and it was limited to the university environment and now extended to include the entire community through this application.

And Arslan said in his speech to Al Jazeera Net, "This program is suitable for those who have a shy or religious personality or who do not have the appropriate options, as the application is characterized by high accuracy in receiving documents, and the presence of counselors in the marriage application reduces the error."

As for the negative point of the application, according to Amir, is the lack of personal photos of users in the first stage, as the two parties will not see each other's pictures until they reach the last stage, which he considered a waste of time if one did not like the other in the end.

Many of the program's users are still experiencing technical problems, a few days after the application was launched, and its developers attribute the problems to the large volume of requests.

Will the application of "Hammdam" - the most comprehensive marriage program in the Islamic Republic - solve the problem of 13 million bachelors in the country?

Will it contribute to bringing the population to 150 million, as the regime aims?

Or should the root of the marriage problem be sought elsewhere?