A scandal, in which the head of the Office of the NRM National Chairman (ONC) Hadijah Namyalo and her staff are accused of being at the centre of charging Ugandan students money and sending them to Iran for studies on scholarships that later appeared problematic, is deepening. Now, there are claims that some of the stranded students have been forced into prostitution in Iran.
But this allegation has left top government officials in shock, wondering at the idea of prostitution in the Islamic Republic of Iran. But according to Igara West MP Gaffa Mbwatekamwa, “as we speak, some ladies are selling their bodies on the streets of Iran.”
MP Mbwatekamwa says each students was charged up to $800 for scholarships in the Islamic Republic of Iran but on reaching there, they were stranded since the academic programs they had gone to pursue were non-existent.
“Over 200 students applied and they paid US$800 each. Over 100 students were taken to Iran under the disguise that they were going to get scholarships,” said Mbwatekamwa. “And when they reached there, they found that some of the courses they were told weren’t there.”
Unable to pursue the studies they had hoped to pursue and without money to return home, some of the stranded students have had to resort to prostitution.
Responding to the claims, General Haji Abubaker Jeje Odongo, the minister of foreign affairs, found it unbelievable that there was talk of prostitution in the Islamic Republic of Iran where the practice was illegal and punishments for it tough.
“He has touched on something that I find a little bit difficult to believe. Prostitution in Iran!.. After this session go back to office, track down all this communication and possibly tomorrow, I can be able to make a substantive statement about the status of those students in Iran,” Minister Odongo said.
But while prostitution is illegal in Iran, there are thousands of prostitutes in the country, according to media and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) working in the Islamic nation where such practices are frowned upon.
“Statistics from various NGOs suggest that in 2016 girls as young as 12 were involved in prostitution,” the BBC claimed in a 2022 report filed by Amir Nategh. “Aftab Society, an NGO dedicated to treatment of drug-addicted women in Iran, said in 2019 that there could be almost 10,000 female [prostitutes] in the capital, roughly 35% of whom were married.”
You can read more about the Iran Scholarships Scandal in which ONC boss Hadijah Namyalo (who blames the allegations on her enemies) and her staff have been named HERE.
