As per unofficial estimates, women account for 6% of addict population.

Over 100,000 women are addicted in the country, director general of the Drug Control Headquarters’ Studies, Research and Education Center said.
Talking to IRNA, Roshanak Vameqi said unofficial statistics and the results of sporadic studies suggest that women constitute 6 percent of the total addict population in Iran.
Highlighting the difficulties of conducting a census on addicts, Vameqi cited official figures based on which about two million people abuse drugs in the country.
The official who is also an advisor to secretary of the headquarters on women’s affairs, warned that the number of female addicts is on the rise given that new synthetic drugs are easily accessible to users.
Women, who mostly used to take opium, have developed a tendency toward crack, he added.
Vameqi criticized official apathy toward research on the root causes of addiction among women.
She stated that two proposals about the malady have been put forth to the headquarters.
“Setting priorities for research on women and drug abuse as well as boosting precautionary measures and addiction treatment programs are on the headquarters’ agenda,“ he stated.
Meanwhile, Tehran’s first drop-in center for women addicts opened on Shoush Street, director general of State Welfare Organization’s Addiction Office said.
The center is established to render services to female addicts wandering on streets and to reduce harms associated with addiction, Farideh Barati-Sadeh.
The center will provide street junkies with warm meals, needles and sanitary supplies.
The center, with the capacity to admit 50 addicts, is staffed by a physician, several consultants and social workers.

An initiative by the Center for Women and Family Affairs stationing its consultants and psychologists in three legal complexes of Tehran has helped cut divorce rate, the center’s chief said.
Zohreh Tabibzadeh-Nouri was quoted by the Persian daily Hamshahri as saying at a press conference that as per an agreement reached with the Justice Ministry, the center’s social workers and psychologists were stationed at courts to provide couples with social and psychological counseling.
She cited surveys based on which thanks to the initiative, 25 percent of couples with familial problems had withdrawn their complaints.
The studies also revealed that couples need to be referred to family therapists in 60 percent of cases, the official added.
Tabibzadeh-Nouri further pointed to a scheme by the center to provide women with legal assistance without charge.
Turning to the center’s programs over the past year, Tabibzadeh-Nouri recalled that 21 percent of the center’s 89-billion-rial budget had been spent on health promotion programs for women.
The official recalled that women breadwinners under the coverage of Imam Khomeini Relief Committee and State Welfare Organization as well as those working in executive bodies were screened for breast cancer.
She added that the scheme was jointly implemented by the center and the Health Ministry.

Researcher and psychologist Simin Hosseinian was born in 1942 in Tehran. She studied psychology at Tehran University. Later, she traveled to the US where she was conferred a master’s and a doctorate in psychotherapy from UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles). After her return from the US, Hosseinian started teaching at Al-Zahra University. Apart from teaching, she has held administrative jobs in the university such as head of the Psychotherapy Department (since 2003), director of Department of Post-Graduate Studies (1997-98) and vice chancellor of Faculty of Psychology (1986-87).
The Ministry of Science, Research and Technology commended Hosseinian as an exemplary university professor in the academic year 2005-06. She was also selected as the top researcher of Al-Zahra University. After founding Iran Psychotherapists Association together with psychiatrist Gholamali Afrouz, she started studies on the country’s first code of conduct for psychologists. In this line, her book ’Ethics in Counseling and Psychology’ was published in winter 2007. She has also co-translated ’Making Vocational Choices: A Theory of Vocational Personalities and Work Environments’ by American psychologist John L. Holland. Over the past 15 years, she has been conducting research on occupational fatigue, with a focus on Holland Codes. Hosseinian has presented 80 papers to scientific journals and domestic and international seminars. She is currently vice chancellor of Al-Zahra University for research affairs. She has translated and authored seven books.

Iran’s first center for labor in water was launched in Khatam-ul-Anbia Hospital in Gonbad, Golestan province, the Persian daily reported.
The hospital managers say the center has so far conducted 10 successful water births.
Head of the hospital, Abdolrahim Saheb Jamei stated that the center was established with an aim to cut the rate of C-section and encourage natural childbirths.
Highlighting that labor in water is still under study, the expert noted that the highly-equipped center was established by Golestan University of Medical Sciences and the provincial Social Security Department.
The official stated that all expenses for water birth are borne by the Social Security Organization of Iran.
Reiterating that the center is the first of its kind in the country, Saheb Jamei noted that two groups of midwives underwent training in water birth at the center.
Atousa Mojahedieh, a gynecologist who has received training on labor in water in Germany, stressed that the popularity of water birth is growing in other countries as a safe alternative to standard types of delivery.
The expert who heads the center gave assurances that water birth poses no health risks to mother and baby.

Women are assuming greater political leadership and business ownership in Asia but remain underrepresented in national level government, says a US group with deep roots in the region, AFP reported.
In an assessment, the Asia Foundation noted “important progress“ in reform of laws and policies concerning women in the region as a result of global pressure as well as actions by Asian women groups themselves.
“The good news is, despite their under-representation in national level government, women are nonetheless becoming a significant political force in many countries and are gaining ground particularly at the local level,“ Carol Yost, director of the foundation’s women’s empowerment program.
“While there is still a long way to go to achieve parity, the overall trend in women’s full and equal participation in political processes and public life is positive,“ Yost said.
Across Asia, women hold an average of 16.4 percent of parliamentary seats and own about 30 percent of small and medium enterprises although they represent one-quarter of the world’s population, according to statistics culled by the non-profit foundation.
Asian countries have seen a significant increase in women’s political participation in provincial government via quota systems or legislation, the Asia Foundation said.
Training programs for women candidates also have increased the number of women standing for and winning elections in Asia, the foundation said, citing Cambodia as an example.
In some Asian countries women are putting pressure on political parties to include more women on party lists, it said.
Women are also demanding that political parties state their platform for addressing women’s priority concerns.
Although it is difficult to get accurate information on women’s economic contributions as entrepreneurs in Asia, it is estimated that 30 percent of small and medium enterprises are owned by women, it said.
But the foundation noted that women workers in many countries were still paid less than men for the same work, faced harassment and physical abuse in the workplace, and were not well-equipped to protect their rights as workers.

Women working on a paddy field in Rasht, Gilan province

Physical Education Organization plans to build the first football stadium for women. The 40,000-seat stadium will be constructed near Azadi Sports Complex, the Persian daily Iran wrote.
Deputy head of the Company for Development, Mobilization and Maintenance of Sports Places said the stadium’s floor plan has been designed by a woman.
Mohammad Saeed Nafari noted that the plan will be implemented in two phases.
In the first stage, the official said, the main framework of the stadium, its soccer field and seats will be constructed.
The roof will be built in the second stage, he added.
Nafari noted that 3,000 hectares of land near Azadi Sports Complex has been considered for the project to begin in late May.
He put the budget set aside for the project at 40 billion rials.

The Foundation for Development of Women and Youth Entrepreneurship opened in Tehran, Central News Bureau reported.
Founded by a group of entrepreneurs, the entity is a non-profit and non-governmental center aiming to promote creativity and entrepreneurship among the youth and women.
The foundation also seeks to identify young talents, support educational activities, create a databank of women and youth entrepreneurs as well as create new business opportunities.
A number of senior officials, managers of private companies as well as heads of private banks of Kar Afarin, Eqtesad-e Novin, Saman and Pasargad attended the opening ceremony.
Speaking at the ceremony, head of the Center for Dialog Among Civilizations, Seyyed Mohammad Khatami, criticized women’s poor involvement in the society which he attributed to some incorrect customs and attitudes.
The former Iranian president termed the foundation as a civil society which can help promote entrepreneurship among women who constitute half of the population.

Bladder is a muscular organ that stores urine made in kidneys. Urine is carried from the bladder to the outside of your body through a small tube called the urethra. Both the urethra and the bladder are supported by muscles in the pelvis. These pelvic muscles are important for urinary control because they help keep the urethra closed as well as support the bladder and urethra at the correct angle needed for maintaining bladder control.
Loss of bladder control (also known as urinary incontinence) can occur when pelvic muscles are weak and can affect women of all ages.
Types and Symptoms:
Stress Incontinence: unexpected urine loss while laughing, sneezing, coughing, lifting, or exercising;
Urge Incontinence: frequent and/or urgent need to urinate;
Mixed Incontinence: combination of stress and urge symptoms;
Risk Factors: Pregnancy and Vaginal Delivery;
Excessive Weight: 60 percent greater chance of experiencing incontinence;
Hysterectomy: 60 percent greater chance of experiencing incontinence by age 60;
Menopause: 56 percent of all menopausal women experience incontinence;
Physical Activity: one out of three physically active women experience incontinence;
Diabetes: 70 percent greater chance of women experiencing incontinence.
One in three women of all ages are affected by loss of bladder control.
Most are too embarrassed to discuss symptoms with their health practitioner so they remain untreated. Yet, women do not have to accept this condition. There are successful treatments available.
Solutions: Bladder control problems can be treated through prescription drugs, surgery, and behavioral therapy (such as pelvic muscle exercises). Studies have shown a 68 percent reduction in incontinence symptoms with drug therapy alone, while only 45 percent were satisfied with their surgery after five years. Pelvic muscle exercises can cure up to 80 percent of women with bladder control problems and should be the first treatment option.