Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, one of the most influential political figures in Islamic Republic of Iran, passed away on January 8th 2017. He was one of the few opposing Islamic Republic approach in dealing with general oppositions to results of the 2009 presidential election. It was due to such objections that he had been accused of colliding with protesters by ruling officials and as a result, was dismissed from the position of chairman of the Assembly of Experts of the Leadership as well as the Friday’s Prayer Imam. Owing to the fact that he was a popular character among many of supporters of the Green Movement and opponents of 2009 election results, a great number of people attended Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani’s funeral. The overcrowd led to 23 injuries. According to statistics announced by Tehran municipality, at least two and a half million people attended Ayatollah Hashemi’s funeral in Tehran.

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani’s funeral

The figure of 15,000 homeless people in the capital is so significant that it cannot be overlooked. According to the Deputy Head of the Anti-Narcotics Force, Tehran’s number of homeless people is at the top. Apart from the homeless, some of whom are chronically mentally ill or people who have abandoned home for any reason and never returned, a large number of this population is addicted to drugs. Many of these are counted as high-risk addicts due to long-term drug abuse as well as illnesses such as AIDS and hepatitis. 
During the winter, about a thousand homeless are collected from the city on a daily basis, and these people are transferred to homeless care centers, or “shelters” and “warm-houses.” In the last decade, the establishment of these places in Tehran has been a way to support this vulnerable group of society and provide a basis for empowerment and assistance to the poor and homeless.

Although, during these years, Tehran Municipality has provided conditions for the construction of shelters so that the homeless can eat at least one meal a day and take a bath, this is not the only measurement that the responsible organizations can do to improve the living conditions of these people.
A look at the current situation of shelters, which are often crowded in the hours close to sunset and are filled with more than the capacity and number of beds, shows that the current capacity of Tehran shelters is far less than the actual number of homeless people. 

This collection narrates the story of a number of homeless people going to the Khavaran shelter in Tehran.


 Homeless Shelter in Tehran


Despite the widespread outbreak of the coronavirus and the country’s Ministry of Health warning, on September 6, 2020, the beginning of the academic year 1399-1400 was held by order of the former President of Iran, Hassan Rouhani. According to the decision of the Ministry of Education, schools with a large number of students are divided into two groups; some go to school on even days and the other group to school on odd days. It should be noted that the Ministry of Education is in charge of about 15 million students and It has always faced a lack of funding and facilities. Critics believe that the insistence on holding classes in person could be due to a lack of facilities for e-learning.
The following photo collection is a narration of the first day of the school year for the female elementary school students of Monira Asemi School in Tehran who attended the school in groups with a certain number and limited time frames after the beginning of the pandemic.

Amir Salehi

Amir Salehi

Beginning a New School Year during COVID