Women reject mandatory headscarves at Iranian track and field competition, president resigns

the president of Federation of Athletics of Will, Hashem siami, resigned this Sunday, the 7th, after a sporting event where the participating women did not wear a veil, an item required by the country’s laws. According to information from the state news agency Go tothe fact will need “explanations”, as said by the promoter of the province of Farz, where the championship was held.

“Hashem Siami left his post due to controversies linked to an endurance racing competition organized in Shiraz (city in the south of Iran),” reported the vehicle. The test itself was held last Friday and images from the local press ‘caught’ the non-use of the veil by the athletes. In defense, Siami said that the event was not organized by the federation and that the athletes were not part of it.

Iran has had restrictions on women’s behavior since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, which made it an Islamic theocratic republic. Previously, it was an autocratic monarchy and had an affinity with the West.

From September 2022 onwards, a series of protests took over its territory due to the death of the young woman. Mahsa mini, 22 years old. She was accused of breaking the women’s dress code by letting a lock of her hair show and, some time after being detained by the Morality Police, she died – her family alleges beatings, while the government says it was due to an illness.

Demonstrations for greater freedom for women in Iran also demand rights in sport. For more than 40 years, they could not attend football stadiums, considered a strictly male culture there, until they were allowed into a local league game in August last year. However, the rules in this matter remain strict, which has led some Iranian women to even root for their team’s defeat in the Qatar World Cup.

In other sports, such as Skateboarding, removing the mandatory veil was in focus. Also in 2022, young people who participated in an event with their heads uncovered were arrested, an attitude similar to that of the most recent athletics championship.

It is not yet known what will happen to the participants of the competition that led to the dismissal of Siami, the only movement so far. Her replacement has also not been announced.