User:Maxxb12/sandbox/Childhood during the Iranian Civil War

Iran–Iraq War
	Part of the Persian Gulf Conflicts
	; Top left: Military use of children in Iran-Iraq war on Iranian fronts. Top right: Massacre of Iranian civilians by Iraqi troops early in the war. Middle left: Port quarter view of the guided missile frigate USS Stark listing to port after being struck by an Iraqi-launched Exocet missile on 17 May 1987. Middle right: Mujahedin killed in Operation Mersad by Pasdaran in Kermanshah '
Date	22 September 1980 – 20 August 1988; (7 years, 10 months, 4 weeks and 1 day)
Location	Iran–Iraq border

There are many differences between the Treatment of Children during the Iran–Iraq War and the modern day treatment of children. There was a large divide between how girls and boys were treated.

Paradise Keys edit

During the revolution, there were many varying thoughts about the way children were conscripted to the army. More controversy existed around the techniques used to persuade the Iranian children that what they were doing was the right way forward.

A method often used to persuade people was a Paradise Key

A paradise key was a small plastic key painted in gold said to unlock the doors to paradise.

Many people believed paradise keys to be an inhumane tool to persuade children to become martyrs.

"First they convince them that the afterlife is even better than Disneyland, then they put them in a trance with all their songs...They hypnotize them and just toss them into battle. Absolute carnage."

Defying the regime edit

Family based issues edit

Some families chose to not adhere to the rules set out by the new regime, and this influenced the way children were treated when growing up.

Wealthy & Poor edit

Wealthy edit

Children from wealthier families often did not end up going to war as they had a better opportunity at life if they did not. These families were often closely related to members of the regime.

The Key to paradise was for poor people. Thousands of young kids, promised a better life.

Poor Families edit

Children in poor families did not really have the choice weather or not to go to war. They were usually set up for a hard life, and could not afford the risk of defying the regime.

Gender edit

With the new regime, the split between genders in Iran got even larger.

With boys being conscripted into the army, girls were required to start taking the roles boys had. But, they were also able to still live their lives."

Bibliography edit

Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. New York, NY: Pantheon Books, 2003.
Murray, Williamson, and Kevin Woods. The Iran-Iraq War (2014)