‘Poor Kids’ photos challenge Iran’s elite

In response to the “Rich Kids of Tehran” Instagram account used by Iranian youth to flaunt their extravagant lifestyle, a “Poor Kids of Tehran” account was recently created to highlight the hardships of daily life for other Iranians.

The “Rich Kids” Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts launched last month became wildly popular, garnering nearly 100,000 followers in less than a month before abruptly shutting down last week due to “false publicity.”

However, according to the Islamically conservative weblognews.ir, the Instagram account was blocked by the Iranian government because of its “vulgar” content, AFP reported last week.

The unidentified people behind a new Instagram account with the same name explained that the photos were intended to change misconceptions about the Islamic republic by showing an alternative to the way Western media usually portrays the cash-strapped Iran.

The images can still be found on various websites and continue to come under fire by many amid Iran’s rising unemployment rates and growing inequality.

Taadol Newspaper criticized what it called the “class of nouveau riche who cropped up like mushrooms” under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s eight-year presidency, citing corruption in commerce and government stocks as the reason for the rise of Iran’s ultra-rich.

The original “Rich Kids” account highlighted another issue: the uploaded photos showed women in Western clothing without the compulsory hijab, and people drinking alcohol, which is illegal in Iran. The flagrant disregard for Iranian law suggests that the elite are immune from prosecution. Harsh sentences are often meted out to those found guilty of breaking the country’s strict penal code.

The rival “Poor Kids of Tehran” account pokes fun at the lavish lifestyles of Tehran’s elite by posting photos imitating those from the “Rich Kids” account, depicting the hardships faced by the city’s other residents, half of whom are estimated to live in poverty.