Military conscription in Iran

[Opinion. These conditions are common in every country which practices conscription. Soldiers are glorified in Israel but not in Iran. IDF soldiers suffer the same rates of mental illness and PTSD (40%) from military service. Civilian PTSD rates are 23-42 and 60% among displaced Palestinians.]

Obligatory military service in Iran:

21st-century slavery that harms the health of soldiers and society.    

Mohammad Reza Shadmand Foumani Moghadam 15 Mar

Reviewing Iran obligatory military service, its health and life hazards for soldiers and compare it with slavery.

According to “National Law for Military Service in the Islamic Republic of Iran”, all male citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran are obliged to perform military service during war and peace for 24 months. Iran deprecate nearly all the citizenship rights if the males refuse to join the army.

However, the harmful effects of the current form of military service during the service that put the health of soldiers in high danger can continue after the service, is the other side of this service. in addition, it has a close pattern with slavery in the 18th century that required a significant revise based on a voluntary method that could significantly improve both the morale of soldiers and the socio-economical state of the country.

Military service is a complex matter, that changed several times from the sixteenth century until now. Military service generally was in the two forms of obligatory during the war and full-time recruitment during peace till World War I. unk 2015).

There are 120 countries which use obligatory military service law. Some of these countries are Iran, Greece, Turkey, the United States and Israel.

Despite the well-known harms of this kind of soldiery in Iran for individuals, their families and society, the pattern has not changed.

No person included in military service can be exempted from service, such as conscientious objectors. Even Jewish and Zoroastrian men are subject to conscription.

Driving tests and driving licenses are proscribed. Employers of absentees will be punished by paying a fine or other penalty.during conflict. [I would add that execution is common for refusers.]

Iran has a 5894km border which means 76 soldiers for each 1km! The official employed military forces that is estimated to be 140,000 to 280,000 personnel.

Some of these works that are ordered to soldiers are 1. Gardening, 2. Shepherding, 3. Labouring, 4. Footman, 5. Cleaning, 6. Officers’ personal drivers, 7. Secretary and 8. Doing officers personal jobs like buying groceries, ironing, and taking care of their children. [Just like Muang Thai!]

A soldier’s monthly stipend is  2,400,000 IRR (equal to 10 USD) for private to 12,000,000 (equal to 50 USD) for Sergeant in comparison with a minimal established monthly stipend of 35,000,000 (equal to 145 USD) and expense of 32,000,000 (equal to 133 USD) for each person without accommodation costs.

The low quality of life, high-pressure working status, destruction of character, enforcement and very low salary reports worrying overall mental health. 63% of soldiers are suffering from mild or severe depression. 28.4% of Iranian soldiers had suicidal ideation and additionally reported suicidal ideation.  In addition to psychological risks, soldiers are suffering from low quality of diet, low medical care and low hygiene environment and contaminated water. 98% of Iranian soldiers are at risk of Hepatitis E virus (HEV).

The similarity of obligatory military service with slavery and the importance of civil rights was one of the reasons that conscription was given up. However, in 2021, this kind of slavery, named military service is still unchanged in Iran. According to the new description, slavery is a severe abuse of other people for personal or commercial gain.

The right to a fair trial, the right to government services, the right to education, and the right to use public facilities are not available to soldiers.