Huffington Magazine Issue 62 | Page 36

Voices the necessary injections for IVF treatment? And why have vaginal antibiotics and creams disappeared, which have nothing to do with increasing the population? “In short, what is going on is that medicine for women has become increasingly difficult to find — all medicine for women, and no one talks about it,” said a pharmacist in Tehran’s Vanak Square. Last month the U.S. Treasury Department, which oversees all American sanctions, announced that it was adding items to its general license for medicine export to Iran. The export of medicine has always been allowed under the current sanctions regime against Iran, yet there is still a severe shortage of medicine in the country. At this point, actions like this from the U.S. have become comical for those of us who travel to Iran frequently. Which bank is willing to make the transactions necessary for the medicine to reach Iran, given that sanctions have choked off Iranian banks from the world? Which company is willing to ship the medicine to Iran, given that almost all shipping routes have been sanctioned? The U.S. Department of Treasury NARGES BAJOGHLI HUFFINGTON 08.18.13 can appear to be making a humanitarian gesture, but without making actual changes to banking and trade sanctions — which have been and will continue to block the sale of medicines to Iran — nothing will change. And in the meantime, millions of women in Iran will continue to suffer the consequences of com- In short, what is going on is that medicine for women has become increasingly difficult to find.” promised U.S.-made birth control pills and the lack of any medications at all to treat the other gynecological problems they may have. American policymakers, who ironically invoked the plight of women in the Middle East to enact their wars in the region after Sept. 11, should know that their policies in Iran are quite literally making women sick. Narges Bajoghli is a Ph.D student in anthropology at New York University, and director of the documentary B