Amirhossein Zolghadri

Parvin Ardalan, born in 1345, graduated in the field of Social Communications at the Bachelor’s level and Women’s Studies at the Master’s level from Allameh Tabataba’i University in Tehran. She is a journalist and well-known activist for women’s rights, and is one of the founders of the “Women’s Cultural Center” and a member of the initial group of the “One Million Signature Campaign for Changing Discriminatory Laws”. She has also been active in writing and editing several books. One of her books, “Senator”, was published in 1382 with the collaboration of Noushin Ahmadi Khorasani.

Ms. Ardalan, in an interview with the magazine “Khat-e-Solh”, discussed the decision of two chess players from the national teams of America and Ecuador who have announced that they are not willing to participate in the upcoming Women’s World Chess Championship due to the mandatory hijab in Iran. She also mentioned that “their action is commendable as it respects their right to choose and applies to all women participating in the competition.” She added, “Their action is a protest against countries like Iran, which enforce optional matters as mandatory, and then present them as cultural norms, and expect others to respect their laws and culture. This means the involuntary normalization of women under the guise of culture.”

Mrs. Ardalan, as my first question, I would like to ask you what has been the most significant obstacle that women’s sports have faced from the beginning of the revolution in 1979 until now?

In my belief, women’s sports in Iran have been a form of participating in the “two” race with multiple obstacles. The Iranian Revolution was accompanied by the maximum participation of women and men, but after the establishment of the Islamic Revolution and the famous statement of Ayatollah Khomeini that “the Islamic Republic must be Islamic in all aspects,” the gender policy of the Islamic society determined the form and manner of women’s participation in all fields, not to prohibit it. For example, no girl was banned from cycling, but cycling in public places, which provided the possibility of being seen by men, was prohibited. This prohibition was due to the gender of women in other public sports activities and championships, which exposed the female body to the public eye.

The issue of women’s coverage was also included in this policy. A belief, tradition or religious matter was linked to government policy in order to become one of the indicators of the Islamic society and, of course, to be accepted and represented as a social norm. As a result, the scope of “keeping women behind the curtain” expanded and spread in public spaces. Respect for the right to optional coverage was replaced by acceptance of mandatory coverage. The diversity of women in society and their differences in beliefs, culture, nationality and religion were ignored. Such policies also affected women’s sports and made it faceless. The scope of restrictions was not limited to limiting sports fields or activities of female athletes, but also expanded to their presence as spectators; as we witnessed in football and volleyball competitions.

Despite the resistance and presence of women in the fields of public and championship sports since the revolution until now, the shift from individual games to team games has gained more momentum. However, there is still pressure to make women’s sports invisible in public and media spheres, both as players and spectators. Invisibility and marginalization of women’s sports has always been on the agenda. Inequality in opportunities and insufficient investment in women’s sports compared to men has also intensified the pressure on women in this process.

Every sport has its own specific clothing, and every athlete is required to wear the specific uniform for that sport in order to participate. This issue, which has taken a different form in Iran, has created obstacles for Iranian women and has also caused problems for the Iranian government in international communities.

Regarding the presence of Iranian athletes in international forums, in my opinion, for the sovereignty of Iran, the way of representing the image of female athletes and their professional abilities is a priority. A prominent example of this was the elimination of the Iranian women’s kata team, who had reached the final of the third edition of the Islamic Solidarity Games, but due to objections from the Women’s Sports Deputy and then Egypt’s protest against the change of clothing for athletes, their gold medal was easily taken away and all the efforts and hard work of female athletes for several months went to waste.

It is not possible nor should one exclude an athlete from participating in sports events because of their attire, but what we witness in Iran is the Iranian government’s effort to use women to showcase Islamic identity in the international sports arena. This is in contrast to the diverse image of Iranian women both inside and outside the country, and the struggles of the women’s movement in Iran. The Iranian government is forced to address these contradictions.

Recently, two non-Iranian chess players have stepped up to support the fight against mandatory hijab for Iranian women by participating in a tournament that will be held in Iran. Do you think their decision to not go to Iran, which could serve as a role model for other athletes, will harm Iranian women’s sports or question anti-women laws?

In international societies, the government of Iran considers the coverage of Iranian female athletes as a cultural matter and derived from the Islamic culture of Iranian society. Even if the majority of a society like Iran is made up of Muslims, it does not mean that the culture of Iranian society is a homogeneous culture. It does not mean that women have been veiled from the beginning until now. At least the struggles of women in the early years of the revolution to have control over their bodies have played a role in the history of Iran. Therefore, in my opinion, what is important in the movement of these two athletes is their rational reaction to a competition in which the host country has requested to host and also wants to determine the way the players dress. If the government of Iran does not recognize the right of women to choose their own clothing within Iran, it cannot extend this request to other athletes who come to Iran. In my opinion, the movement of these two athletes is commendable because of their respect for their

Their movement is an action against countries like Iran, who impose voluntary, compulsory, legal, and then cultural measures and demand others to respect their decisions in terms of law and culture of a country. This means the involuntary normalization of women under the guise of culture. If such an environment is allowed to grow, the autonomy and agency of women within the borders of countries like Iran will continue to be threatened, and other women who participate in competitions, by accepting themselves, encourage the international community to collude against women. The decision of these two athletes to refrain from participating in these competitions is noteworthy and requires all of us to reconsider.

Thank you for the opportunity you have provided us with in the monthly magazine of “Peace Line”.