The Shadow of Poverty Over the People
The Shadow of Poverty Over the People
The Statistical Center of Iran says 27% of Iranians live on a daily income of two dollars, meaning a third of Iran’s population cannot afford the basic necessities of life. Additionally, the Global Hunger Index (GHI) indicates that 65% of Iran’s population suffers from malnutrition.
Meanwhile, Iranian citizens say with the dollar’s price jumping to 80,000 tomans, the prices of essential goods have also increased several times, forcing them to remove many other items from their expense baskets. The Statistical Center’s report pertains to January when the dollar was around 79,500 tomans. Today, on February 7, the dollar rate is about 85,000 tomans. Therefore, it can be said that the income of those 27% of Iranians has dropped to less than two dollars a day.
Some citizens in various cities of Iran have spoken to Radio Farda about the prices of goods these days and how they manage to afford them. The names of individuals are presented under pseudonyms in this report at their request.
Food Items Without Substitutes
Low-income families are forced to replace food items with cheaper alternatives with every price surge. They substitute chicken for red meat, eggs for chicken, and finally legumes and potatoes for eggs. The latest report from the Statistical Center of Iran shows that more than a third of the food items used by Iranian households have seen price increases of 40 to 103% compared to January last year. The main contributors to this price hike are legumes and fruits.
Of course, it should be noted that the Statistical Center’s report is based on official prices. For example, the price of a kilo of potatoes is considered 32,000 tomans, while in the fruit and vegetable market, potatoes are offered at 36,000 tomans. Mrs. Mahya, who lives in eastern Tehran, has even bought potatoes for 60,000 tomans per kilo. She tells Radio Farda that after the dollar price increase, prices have risen unbelievably. Now, a simple egg sandwich consisting of one egg, one tomato, and one bread costs 20,000 tomans.
If a four-member family wants to eat only egg sandwiches, they would have to spend half of their income. The rent of the apartment she lives in, in eastern Tehran, is 20 million tomans. She says the real estate agency has stated that the rent for this 60-square-meter apartment is now 40 million tomans. She has cut personal purchases from her life and is now worried about the next year because, according to her, prices are expected to rise again, especially for Nowruz and afterward.
However, Masoud Pezeshkian, the President, acknowledged the current dire living conditions and inflation as unacceptable on Monday, February 4, and said that some economic problems are beyond the government’s control. Despite this admission of helplessness, he promised that the government would take good measures to ensure people’s livelihoods before Nowruz 1404.
When Food Costs Replace Education Costs
Prices are generally higher in Tehran, but the economic situation and pressure on weak households are not less in underprivileged cities. Mr. Mansour, a resident of Zahedan, supports several poor families. He says, ‘We used to pay a monthly subsidy for the education or food of some weak families, and alongside that, we provided some food items as a support package. With the price increases, our donation basket has gotten smaller and smaller, and we can no longer afford the educational subsidy.’ These food items include macaroni, soy, tomato paste, and oil, with no greater variety.
Mrs. Farnaz, active in a charity group in Abadan, is responsible for identifying women heads of households. She says about the situation of these families, ‘For a long time, education has been our second priority in attending to underprivileged families, and our focus is on their food. Some families had previously replaced many food items with legumes, but the price increases have cut even that.’ According to Farnaz, in some cases, families have nothing to eat, and she emphasizes this statement.
The elimination of meat and eggs as protein sources has caused at least 65% of the country’s population to suffer from malnutrition. The Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2024 shows that Iran is positioned between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. Lebanon was engaged in military conflict during the period under review, but Iran is grappling with malnutrition in peace conditions.
Recently, the Tehran-based newspaper Etemad wrote in a report that the actual figure might be higher than this index. Other studies show signs of malnutrition, such as an average weight deficiency of 6%, mild weight deficiency of 25%, severe short stature of 3%, moderate short stature of 8%, mild short stature of 21%, severe thinness of 1%, moderate thinness of 5%, and mild thinness of 20% among Iranians.
Ashkeneh Returns to Iranian Tables
Ahmad Alamolhoda, the representative of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic in Khorasan Razavi province and the Friday prayer leader of Mashhad, in August 2012 during Ahmadinejad’s second government, reacted to one of the chicken price surges and its scarcity by saying, ‘It’s not necessary for people’s food provisions to always be the same. Have you Mashhadis forgotten Ashkeneh with fried onions and that life?’ Now, a decade later, this has become an inevitable part of life for a segment of the population, with the difference that now, due to the high price of potatoes, they have been forced to remove even that from Ashkeneh.
Mr. Afshar lives in the Khavaran area, a spot in the southeast of Tehran where many items are slightly cheaper than in central Tehran. He says the price of a kilo of meat is 600,000 tomans, and a kilo of chicken is 90,000 tomans. ‘With this situation, I can’t afford to buy.’ Earlier this month, Ali Asghar Maleki, head of the Mutton Union, confirmed that with price increases coinciding with the dollar’s rise, the market has experienced a downturn and silence.
It seems that not buying meat is not limited to those 27% who earn less than two dollars a day and includes a broader segment of society. This situation has turned meat into a luxury item that only a part of the Iranian society can afford. Mr. Afshar’s colleague is a worker with a monthly salary of 10 million tomans and is also a tenant. Afshar says a large portion of his salary goes toward rent, and he gets by with one or two million tomans a month, surviving on bread, legumes, and potatoes, although they have stopped buying potatoes for a while.
According to Afshar, he has long replaced meat and chicken with chicken bones and feet. The price of each of these is 30,000 and 25,000 tomans per kilo, respectively. One of Afshar’s colleague’s main dishes is Ashkeneh, which they have been eating without potatoes for a while. He refers to it as ‘water and paste.’ Afshar says many workers in our area use these food items. The analysis of the Global Hunger Index 2024 shows that due to the nutritional situation, 53% of Iranian children are stunted due to chronic malnutrition. The rising trend of prices, especially the dollar rate, continues, and senior officials of the Islamic Republic are not unaware of the economic pressures affecting Iranian families.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, said in a recent meeting of the heads of the branches of government, ‘People are being crushed under economic pressures and, out of respect for the household of Islam and religion, say nothing to us. The revolution was for the religion and world of the people, and we must succeed in both areas, but unfortunately, our track record in economic matters is not acceptable.’ Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, said in August 2022 in a meeting with the commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps about the country’s situation, ‘We have passed a large part of the path despite the steep slope and are approaching the peaks.’
However, data from the Statistical Center shows that Iran’s national per capita income in 2023 faced a 20% decline compared to 2011. This report also showed that Iran has become a poorer country in 2023 than before, a poverty now more visible in most economic indicators and data.