OP-ED: AHMADINEJAD'S NEW ENEMY: WOMEN, By Amir Taheri, New York Post, September 6, 2008

Agree with Lexington Green here: this is a sign of a regime in its death throes. You add that to the world's worst brain drain, the birth dearth, Iranian women as the hot new European prostitute, etc., and you're seeing all the signs of a defeated regime (i.e., they're giving up their women and children like a society that has lost a great conflict). Any government efforts to directly target these losses, like getting tougher with women, fits this overall pattern.