Iran, Kyrgyzstan presidents discuss regional cooperation
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian discussed bilateral and regional cooperation in a phone call with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov on Tuesday, Iran’s state media reported.
File photo of a woman and child outside a shop in Iran, where soaring inflation and declining purchasing power have deepened concerns over period poverty and access to basic hygiene products for low-income families.
Rising prices for menstrual hygiene products and persistent social stigma are worsening conditions for women in Iran, with many forced to miss school, reuse disposable products or forgo basic care altogether, the Shargh newspaper reported ahead of World Menstrual Hygiene Day.
The report described how menstruation remains shrouded in shame and silence for many Iranian girls, particularly in smaller towns and poorer communities, where limited education and cultural taboos leave adolescents unprepared for puberty.
One student in a village near Miandoab told Shargh she avoided leaving her classroom during breaks out of fear classmates would notice blood stains on her clothes. Another girl believed she had cancer when she experienced her first period.
“Absence from school is one of the first reactions many girls have when they experience menstruation,” a teacher identified as Nazanin told the newspaper. “The less awareness there is in the family, the more common this behavior becomes.”
Rising costs force unsafe alternatives
Inflation, the report said, has sharply increased the cost of sanitary pads and other hygiene products, particularly affecting women in low-income and marginalized areas.
Somayeh, a 38-year-old worker in a food packaging workshop near Tehran, said long shifts and limited bathroom access often force her to delay changing sanitary products for hours.
“When you have to choose between buying food for your children or sanitary pads for yourself, you choose food,” she said.
Social worker Mahya Vahedi said some women have turned to cloth and other non-hygienic substitutes because they cannot afford sanitary pads, leading to infections and untreated wounds.
“Buying hygiene products has become a luxury for many families,” Vahedi said.
Unlike several countries that provide free menstrual products in schools and public spaces, Iran offers almost no free access to sanitary products in schools, universities or public facilities, the report said.
Debate grows over menstrual leave
The report also highlighted growing debate around menstrual leave policies in workplaces.
File photo of schoolgirls in a classroom in Iran, where rising poverty and the high cost of sanitary products have increased concerns over menstrual health and period poverty among students.
Shima, an office worker interviewed by Shargh, said menstruation remains difficult to discuss openly at work despite the physical pain many women endure.
“How can part of the workforce spend several days each month working through pain and bleeding with no recognition of those conditions?” she said.
Political economy analyst Anisha Asadollahi said menstrual leave has become a point of tension between gender equality demands and Iran’s labor market realities.
Some critics, she said, fear additional labor protections for women could discourage employers from hiring them, citing past labor policies that unintentionally reduced women’s employment opportunities.
But Asadollahi argued recognizing menstrual leave remains important because workplace norms are still built around “the male body as the standard worker.”
“Giving up rights because of fear of discrimination only strengthens unequal structures,” she said.
An Iranian administrative court has temporarily halted implementation of the order creating a special body tasked with managing the country’s internet policy, state media reported on Tuesday.
The court’s industry and commerce panel issued the suspension after complaints seeking to annul the document that established the “cyberspace steering and organization headquarters.”
President Masoud Pezeshkian had earlier created the body and appointed Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref to lead it, asking it to resolve the country’s internet access situation.
On Monday, the body approved returning international internet access in Iran to its pre-January 2026 status.
Access to Iran’s frozen funds is the last serious sticking point in talks with the United States and is being resolved through Qatari mediation, IRGC-linked Fars News reported on Tuesday, citing a source close to the negotiations.
The dispute concerned how Tehran would gain access to the blocked assets before talks could begin, the report said.
There has been no official confirmation of the report.
Iranian hackers were behind a March cyberattack that disrupted Los Angeles’ transit system and forced parts of its network offline, Gambit Security firm said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
The Tel Aviv-based cybersecurity firm said the hackers stole at least 700 gigabytes of emails, backups and other files from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The company said it found the data after it was inadvertently exposed online and traced the server to a hacking operation previously attributed to Tehran by Israeli officials and researchers.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
