An athlete’s silent act of dissent can turn both her and her family into targets of intimidation under the rule of Iran’s radical Islamist regime.
Seven members of Iran 's women's national soccer team sought asylum in Australia after refusing to sing the anthem, facing regime threats.An athlete’s silent act of dissent can turn both her and her family into targets of intimidation under the rule of Iran ’s radical Islamist regime.
anthem before a match in Australia, seven members of Iran’s women’s national soccer team sought asylum there, making a desperate choice no athlete should ever face. After the regime issued threats against the seven and jailed their families, five later withdrew their claims and left.about women’s sports, equality and courage, like Megan Rapinoe, have had nothing to say as Iranian players risk exile, prison and retaliation for the smallest act of defiance. The regime’s campaign of terror against dissidents does not spare the athletes it forces to compete under its flag, subjecting them to bans, interrogation, and detention if they display any measure of resistance. Iranian women’s soccer team member flip-flops on asylum — reveals secret site where her teammates hid Boxer Sadaf Khadem remained in France after an arrest warrant was issued in 2019 when she fought without gear the regime considered necessary under its Islamic dress code. Olympic taekwondo medalist Kimia Alizadeh ultimately defected to Germany in 2020, saying Iranian athletes live under constant pressure and surveillance.Climber Elnaz Rekabi returned from Seoul that year after competing without a headscarf and was immediately forced into a state-managed apology spectacle and placed under house arrest. Handball player Razieh Janbaz was barred from leaving the country after she backed the protest movement and posted unveiled photos. After speed skater Niloufar Mardani competed in Istanbul without the mandatory hijab, Iranian authorities condemned her and removed her from the national team. Taekwondo competitor and gymnastics coach Haniyeh Shariati Roudposhti was detained in Tehran in 2023 after appearing in public without compulsory hijab. Borrowing a page from North Korea, Tehran preys on the families when it fails to silence the athlete.In the view of the Islamic Republic’s leaders, women athletes are not ambassadors; they are a problem to be contained. Local religious representatives of the supreme leader have condemned women cheering at sporting events as “a manifestation of sin” and a form of “moral corruption.” Few athletes in the world are more comfortable using their platform for social causes than America’s women’s soccer stars, which makes their silence here all the more jarring. In America, women’s soccer players fight over real issues like pay, recognition and viewership — legitimate battles in their own right. Rapinoe and teammates knelt during the national anthem in 2016 in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, dominating headlines for days.In 2019, members of the women’s national team sued the US Soccer Federation over equal pay, a case they ultimately won in 2022, using their World Cup victory celebrations to amplify the message across national television.Despite their achievements, they are subject to the same intrusive control of their lives as other Iranian women. If women’s sports solidarity means anything, it has to include women who risk everything just to play, speak or stay silent.Trump briefed that Iran’s new supreme leader is probably gay — and president has priceless reactionStream It Or Skip It: 'The Madison' On Paramount+, Where Michelle Pfeiffer Is A New York Woman Who Goes To Montana To Deal With Her Grief After A Tragedy
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