Iran's joy deficit: Why are citizens unhappy?

Lost happiness

Khorasan's report referred to the World Happiness Index, saying that Iran ranked 10th among the 146 countries covered by the index in 2022. It said: "This is not to mention the state of entertainment and activities and programmes that bet on joy and positive thinking in the country."

"The results of a survey conducted by (pollster) ISPA in 2021 revealed a fact that we all know. These results didn't surprise us, we all know what the circumstances are (in Iran)."

ISPA's poll included a series of questions for citizens over 18 years about their individual assessment of their psychological state. 

 "About 12% of respondents described themselves as very happy, 50.9% thought they were somewhat happy, 13.6% said they weren't very happy, and 23.5% thought they weren't happy at all," the poll concluded.

Dr Ardashir Krawand, an Iranian sociologist, told Khorasan that "peace of mind leads to a kind of happiness and joy."

He added: "In other words, a family is calm, serene, and happy when it can provide for housing, food, health, and treatment, and save 15% of its income. This means having a minimum standard of living that brings peace to the family and avoids economic turmoil."

Moving on to a question, he asked: "Do such conditions prevail in our society?" He noted that citizens suffer from living difficulties and economic instability in the country, along with social problems such as addiction, divorce, and depression.

"If we look at all these social and economic problems in the country, happiness seems to be losing meaning," he said.

"Feeling happy and satisfied isn't sustainable; it's possible to create joy and social activity through government strategic policies and programmes, where officials must first create conditions that enable citizens to meet the minimum living requirements and then move on to the issue of providing the ground for entertainment, happiness, and joy in society."

In Iran, the most important reason given for a lack of social happiness is "feeling powerless". Pessimism about the future and this sense of impotence have led to a state of despair and gloom.

Homelessness adds to a feeling of insecurity

The website Fararu ran a report in 2018 under the headline "Why are Iranians unhappy?".

It pointed out that Iran ranked 105th among 157 countries in the World Happiness Index report issued in 2016. Meanwhile, the results of a report issued in 2017 by the Centre for Strategic Studies entitled "Looking ahead in Iran," showed that 75% of the citizens suffer from despair and frustration.

In the Fararu article, an expert in economic sociology and development, Rahmani Khalili, said social support and a feeling of solidarity play a crucial role in creating social happiness.

Such conditions seem remote, not least with so many Iranians living in highly vulnerable circumstances. And there are expectations that homelessness will get worse.

Iranian parliamentarian Jalal Mahmoud Zadeh, referring to the economic crisis in his country, said:  "We expect that living in tents on the country's streets will increase from next year."

"When people don't have the money to rent a room and the government's promises to provide housing are false, citizens are forced to live in tents." 

Khalili says that consolidating the foundations of trust and honesty, alongside a sense of responsibility from the authorities, could solve the prevailing state of frustration in Iranian society, which currently feels powerless.

This sense of helplessness is largely linked to mismanagement in the country at all levels during the last decades, not least the damage inflicted by a slump in the value of Iran's currency, which the government has not addressed.  

Mehdi Malak Mohammed, a specialist in psychiatry, explained to the same website that "the feeling of helplessness" is the most important reason for the absence of social happiness in Iran, where "pessimism about the future and the inability to overcome the conditions that lead to tension and unrest led to a state of despair and depression in Iranian society."

"The worsening of the state of frustration and despair in society is due to mismanagement and because the ruling authority has given false narratives during the past years about the causes of many disasters and crises, and concealed the real reasons that were revealed later in many domains such as embezzlement," he explained.

"We note that many corruption and embezzlement cases existed during all presidential terms, but they were only revealed after the rival party took over."

"Citizens have lived this experience for many years and, therefore, no longer believe the narratives presented by the authority; they lose confidence in the ruling authority, which doesn't want to acknowledge its responsibility and its failure at all levels."

Deep roots of unhappiness

The quarterly magazine Strategic Studies published by the Iranian Ministry of Science, tried to answer why Iranians are unhappy in 2022. Its report implicitly criticised the policies of the Iranian regime and called for a review of security policies.

It said: "Current security policies negatively affect the happiness and dignity of citizens who criticise these policies in various ways; access to new media and knowledge of international developments has led to a broad and profound wave of calls for change in society."

 "Undemocratic and weak regimes don't understand the nature of such calls; If they do and start to reform things, it will take a long time to organise reforms and enact laws supporting reform; also in the process, there will be a deep rift between power and society, which could be a threat to the regime."

The report, which didn't mention the Islamic Republic, continued: "This rift will lead to crises and troubles for the regime such as rebellion against all the country's policies, deterioration of the status of social capital, an increase of social movements calling for change, violent protests, and even the expansion of revolutionary movements."

It pointed to factors that affect the high level of happiness among citizens, including embracing a policy that adopts diplomacy, constructive relations, and culture; this enhances the sense of respect by citizens and the country's acceptance on an international level."

Long list of import restrictions

In the meantime, the Iranian passport ranks among the worst in the world. At the same time, authorities have a long list of restrictions about what can come into the country. It even includes advanced medical equipment that supports the healthcare system and improves hospital services.

There are also restrictions on scientific research, universities, researchers, and professors. They adopt policies that prevent the entry of foreign investments to improve working conditions and gain the satisfaction of citizens. The authorities are unable to provide healthcare and drinking water services and fail to reduce environmental pollution.

All of these are reasons that limit the ability of citizens to improve their standard of living and access to food security. More importantly, they exacerbate the feeling of helplessness and unhappiness among citizens, according to the report.

All these factors increase frustration and helplessness among the citizens. They are present in Iran today, as a result of the policies adopted by the Islamic Republic for more than 40 years.  This is what has led to such misery in Iranian society.