Chapter 6: Iran's Young Generation

In the previous chapters, we discussed the general demographic situation of Iran's capital, Tehran (see chapter 1 for an introduction). Here we present a special group: the youngsters! Those born after the Islamic Revolution of 1979 represent the population's largest share in the whole country and its city capital (read chapter 2 on Tehran's population structure), and thus are to attract much attention from politians, the media and the whole Iranian society.
 

Who? The third generation are those Iranians from 16 to 34 who have come of age entirely under Islamic rule. They never knew the Shah's despotism. They were born in the times of war between Iran and Iraq. While they have never participated in war, they have always been affected by the aftermath of war. They have been subject to many new policies and experiments of the newly established government.

 

Figure 1: Sex and Age Pyramid of Tehran (own illustration)
(source: National Census 2011-2012)

Figure 2: Group composition of those below 34 years old (own illustration)
(source: National Census 2011-2012)

One should not forget that the Iranian youth is very diverse. The author Debeljak (2013) identified four tendencies within the post-1979 generation, ranging from the most traditional (Ultra-conservatives and Conservatives) to less traditional and liberal (Maintream and Non-Traditionalists).

Figure 3: Diversity in the young generation (source: Debeljak, 2013)



Why? The first family planning program was implemented under the Shah in 1967; nonetheless, until 1976, no significant changes were observed in the fertility level, which stagnated or declined very slightly. The 1979 Islamic Revolution put an end to this program and the new government soon adopted a pro-natalist policy, advocating early marriage and large families. The minimum legal age for marriage was reduced to 9 years for girls and 12 years for boys.

 

(by Ceemin Golshan kh - Sattarkhan)

 The war with Iraq fuelled the pro-natalist atmosphere: families were encouraged to have more children — more soldiers for the creation of the “Twenty Million Army” proposed by Ayatollah Khomeini. The government and religious leaders praised women for bearing and raising many children. The pro-natalist policies were continued even after the release of the 1986 census data which, to the government’s great satisfaction, indicated a very high rate of population growth in comparison with the previous census (1976). Besides the idea of the Twenty Million Army, many other measures such as rationing the food - during and after the war- were taken to encourage the families to have more children. 

 

However, in December 1989, the Iranian government radically reversed its policy and launched a new family planning program. The latter, according to figures, seems to have been very successful, since the contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) rose from 37 % in 1976 to about 75% in 2000; in rural areas, the CPR rose from 20 % in 1976 to 72 % in 2000 and in urban areas from 54 % to 82%.

Twofold attitude towards the young population in the last government

With more than half its population under twenty years old, Iran is one of the world's most youthful nations. The Iranian state characterizes its youth population in two ways: as a homogeneous mass, "an army of twenty millions" devoted to the Revolution, and as alienated, inauthentic, Westernized consumers who constitute a threat to the society. Much of the focus of the Islamic regime has been on ways to protect Iranian young people from moral hazards and to prevent them from providing a gateway for cultural invasion from the West. Iranian authorities express their anxieties through campaigns that target the young generation and its lifestyle and have led to the criminalization of many of the behaviors.

Sources:
- Debeljak, K. (2013). Youth in Iran: A Stroy Half-Told. Values, Priorities and Perspectives of Iranian Youth. Young Publics Research Paper Series, No.1 - Iran. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
- Khosravi, Sh. , (2009) Young and defiant in Tehran, University of Pennsylvania Pres
- National Census 2011-2012
 

>> Go to Chapter 7 to learn more about this young generation's situation and everyday life !



(source: Theepochtimes.com, 2010)