Samira Zargari, head coach of the national ski team, was barred by her husband to leave Iran

It was reported by the Iranian media that Samira Zargari, the head coach of the Iranian women’s national alpine skiing team, could not accompany her team to Italy because her husband did not grant her consent to leave Iran. It was February 16^th when the national female ski team left Iran to attend the World Championship. Samira Zargari is not the first Iranian female athlete banned from her husband to go on an international sports trip.  

According to the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran, women must have the permission of their husbands to obtain a passport, and after the passport is issued, men can forbid their wives from travelling. The Iranian Ski Federation made all its efforts until the last moment to solve this problem. Fixed heel of the skier on the ski pole is the individual characteristics of the Alpine ski compared to other branches of the ski. Ms Zargari was the first place winner of this field in Iran in 2007. Before her, the team did not have an independent head coach. It is noteworthy that Ms Zargari’s husband, born and raised in the USA always ridiculed her occupation.

Six years ago an Iranian TV presenter, the husband of women’s futsal team captain, Niloufar Ardalan, also opposed to her attendance at the Asian Cup. Following the controversy over this issue, she went to the World Futsal Championship in Guatemala in December 2015 with the permission of the prosecutor.

A renowned figure of Iranian sports, Zahra Nemati, winner of gold medals in the Paralympic Games (Summer 2012), also the flag bearer of the Iranian team in the Olympics, was detained by her husband.

It was reported by Javid Rahman, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, that “laws about women and family in Iran are considered to be discriminatory” against women and referred to the issue of women’s travel permits.

The report is due to be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council on 22 February.

Women’s sports largely disappeared from Iran after the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. Over time, however, women’s sports gained in popularity, especially soccer. Social customs still come into the game though, as the country’s soccer team plays its games with players’ hair covered by traditional headscarves, or hijabs.

Source: BBC Persian

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