(Reuters) - Loosely veiled and wearing heavy makeup, young women

line the main streets in northern Tehran, looking out for prosperous

customers in new cars.

 

Such scenes, taking place with ever greater frequency, have become a big

headache for Iran's Islamic rulers who have long tried to eradicate "social

corruption" and realize their dream of a puritanical society.

 

Based on official figures, about 300,000 women are engaged in the sex trade

in Iran and the numbers is steadily rising. Newspapers routinely report of

a crackdown on "corrupt networks" preying upon naive runaway girls from

small towns.

 

Until several years ago, Iran's ruling Shi'ite Muslim clergy either denied

adamantly that they faced a prostitution problem or blamed it on the "bad

influences" of Western culture, transmitted by videos and satellite

television.

 

But with the practice spreading to even small towns closed to outside

influences, many are waking up to the reality and looking for solutions

other than sheer force.

 

The latest idea is the so-called "chastity houses," regarded by some

religious leaders as a more acceptable version of brothels, to both shelter

poor street women and satisfy the sexual needs of men who cannot afford to

get married.

 

The idea has been widely publicized in the Iranian media but, with

prostitution long held as a "cardinal sin," few dare to openly endorse it

and most officials have dissociated themselves from it.

 

At least one senior cleric, Ayatollah Mohammad Mousavi Bojnurdi, has come

out strongly in defense of the plan, provoking an uproar among feminist and

conservative groups.

 

"We face a real challenge with all these women on the streets. Our society

is in an emergency situation, so the formation of the chastity houses can

be an immediate solution to the problem," the ayatollah told a newspaper.

"This plan is both realistic and conforms to the Sharia (Islamic) law."

 

Under the scheme, couples would register for a temporary, Islamicly correct

marriage and receive a license as well as free contraceptives and health

advice.

 

The license would legitimize their relationship and make them immune from

harassment by the modesty police, who prowl the streets looking to arrest

young couples who are out together but are not related.

 

Many women are outraged by the idea.

 

"Chastity houses would be an insult and disrespect to women," said

Shahrbanou Amani, a woman parliamentarian.

 

The Cultural Council for Women, an Islamist feminist group, said such

houses would be a "deceitful and thinly disguised" name for prostitution.

 

After the 1979 Islamic Revolution which toppled the secular government of

the shah, the clergy closed all Iran's brothels and turned the main one in

Tehran into a park.

 

But the practice went underground and spread because of rising poverty and

what many see as the breakdown of society's moral fabric. Critics say

social restrictions after the Islamic Revolution have helped to encourage

relations out of wedlock.

 

Last year, a cleric was arrested for smuggling unsuspecting young women to

Gulf Arab states to work as prostitutes. A serial murderer was hanged

recently for killing more than a dozen prostitutes in the holy city of

Mashhad.

 

OPTING FOR TEMPORARY MARRIAGE

 

The idea of "chastity houses" is similar to "Sigheh," or temporary

marriage, practiced among some Shi'ites as an alternative, though it is not

common in Iran.

 

In Sigheh, couples exchange vows for a limited period. The man pays a small

sum to the woman but is not bound by any other obligations.

 

The cost of a traditional wedding in such a status-conscious society as

Iran, as well as that involved in setting up a home, deters many men from

tying the knot. Officials say the average age for marriage has jumped to

about 30 from the early 20s just two decades ago.

 

This has created a dilemma for the Islamic state, which has on occasion

resorted to using force to discourage premarital sex. Unmarried boys and

girls caught together are often lashed if they are proved to have had sex.

 

To encourage marriage, state-run charities routinely arrange and finance

mass weddings and government banks offer low-interest loans to help young

couples start married life.