Qantara.de - Dialog mit der islamischen Welt

With slogans like "An Iran of 150 million" and "More children, more happiness", the leadership in Tehran is calling for higher birth rates – a U-turn in its family planning policy. What is still unclear is how the desired increase in the size of the population would contribute to solving the country's economic and social problems. By Marcus MichaelsenMore

Decades of repression and the establishment of a conformist state culture are beginning to take their toll on independent writers. In an all-enveloping climate of fear, Iran's young writers are coming under increasing pressure to sacrifice their independence and exercise self-censorship. For their part, the all-powerful state censorship authorities are becoming ever more professional – and restrictive – in their methods. By Faraj SarkohiMore