Iran, along with other Muslim countries, Indonesia, Pakistan, Tunisia, Egypt, and Turkey, officially adopted a population policy in the 1960s to reduce population growth by implementing family planning (Nortman and Hofstatter 1978). The first general family planning clinic was established in 1968 in Tehran (Ministry of Health 2003). By 1976, the Iran Fertility Survey showed that 26% of married women aged 15–49 were using a modern method of contraception (Aghajanian 1994). The official family planning program was suspended after the Islamic Revolution, however, the Ministry of Health clinics never completely stopped providing family planning services to clients. In 1980, the Minister of Health received a ruling in answer to his question about the legitimacy of birth control in the form of an edict issued by Imam Khomeini indicating that Islam permits the use of contraception (Ministry of Health 2003). In 1989, the family planning program was revived with massive financial and policy support from the government and religious leaders. Since 1989, the family planning program has received an annual centralized budget and all services remain free of charge through the public sector. The information, education and communication (IEC) component of Iran's family planning services has been strongly and continuously implemented throughout the country.
This chapter is drawn from Hosseini-Chavoshi (2007).
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(2009). Contraceptive Use: Trends, Levels and Correlates. In: The Fertility Transition in Iran: Revolution and Reproduction. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3198-3_6
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