Tehran, Iran , Nov. 21
By Milad Fashtami - Trend:
Rahmatollah Hafezi, the head of Health and Environment Commission of Tehran City Council, said on Nov. 21 there are 3,000 female homeless people in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
"A warm house for female homeless is going to be built in Tehran," he said, Iran's Tasnim News Agency reported Nov. 21.
"However, there are some legal problems. For example, if something happens to one of the homeless people in one of the warm houses, the municipality will be responsible for keeping people there illegally," he explained.
Hafezi called on the MPs to solve the legal problems.
"There are totally 15,000 homeless in Tehran," he said.
"All the warm houses of Tehran are for men, so homeless women, especially in the cold months, are vulnerable," he added.
Reza Jahangiri, Deputy Director of State Welfare Organization of Tehran Municipality, said in November last year that the average age of homeless women in Tehran is between 17-18 years.
Most of the homeless women are reportedly drug addicts.
Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said in October that the municipality has promised to provide shelter for homeless people.
"We have kept our word so far, and we hope that the number of homeless people will not increase," he said.
Iran's Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said in October that the government plans to build a shelter for homeless with the capacity to house 10,000 people in the next six months in Fashafuyeh district of Tehran province.