As millions around the world honour International Women’s Day, Iranian women have proven to be among some of the most tenacious forces for change – not just in Iran but on the global stage.
Six months ago, the world was stunned by the uproar, resistance and resolve of thousands of Iranian women and girls who risked their lives, united, and took to the streets with their messages of freedom and change in the aftermath of the tragic killing of Mahsa Jina Amini in police custody.
However, the Iranian women’s valour, backbone and commitment to change long precede the events of this past fall; instead, they remain the core pillars that have long weaponized Iranian women to push forward against centuries-old patriarchy, discrimination and a gender-apartheid regime at present that has proven to have no regard for the growth of its people – especially its vibrant youth and women.
In most countries, athletes and champions are perhaps a powerful reflection of the many values, ambitions and ever-present challenges within the society.
For these four women, so much of their dreams, struggles, and tireless fight for what’s rightfully theirs are shared by millions of other women and girls in Iran — all united with one common thread: the courage to make headway against oppression, corruption, and perpetual neglect of their rights. These four Iranian stars have worked hard their entire lives to shine bright in their homeland, but under severe socio-political and economic challenges, were left with no choice but to leave their country.
For every Ghazaleh, Atefeh, Dina and Sadaf, there are millions of spirited trailblazing young women and girls in Iran — each with their own universal stories of hope, healing and perseverance — dreaming with their hearts and minds for the day when Iranian girls can all shine bright in their homeland.
Ghazaleh Salehipour, Iranian international football player
“I simply couldn’t stay home and see others risk it all on the streets,” recalls Ghazaleh Salehipour of the early days of the nationwide anti-government protests in Iran in late September.
The 22-year-old was one of Iran’s rising female pro footballers and one of the first Iranian women to have been drafted by a European football league. She was scheduled to leave Tehran for Spain — where she’s now playing for Malaga’s Juventud Torremolinos — just a week after Mahsa Jina Amini’s death. However, she recalls how her “conscious” couldn’t let her stay put as thousands of young Iranians her age risked their lives on the streets and in particular in her hometown of Karaj in the outskirts of Tehran.
“I was teargassed myself, witnessed people getting arrested, and even saw a man get shot and die in front of me.” But none of that deterred her from joining the protests before her pre-scheduled trip to Spain.
The young athlete left the country not knowing that her father — one of her biggest supporters and champions — will also lose his life in what’s now regarded as one of the deadliest government crackdowns against peaceful protests in Iran. In early November, just weeks after Salehipour’s departure, her father, along with a friend, joined waves of protestors in Karaj in honour of 24-year-old protestor Hadis Najafi’s 40th day of mourning. There, in the midst of protests, Salehipour’s father was shot in the thigh and died on the spot. Today, Salehipour is channelling all her pain into willpower — paving the way for a future that she knows her father has always dreamt for his only daughter.
What does the chant: “woman, life, freedom” mean to you?
“Each of these words is a whole philosophy in and of itself — each being essential pillars of any civilized society. Any country that lacks any of these pillars cannot have a healthy society and culture. Also for me, this chant will always be a reminder of my dad; so its meaning is even more powerful for me.”
Atefeh Ahmadi, an Olympic skier for the Iranian national team
She grew up in a family of skiers, and at only 22, Atefeh Ahmadi is Iran’s number of female skier — a title she has held for the past five consecutive years. But more than being a ski star, she’s proven her conviction against a backdrop of corruption, mismanagement, and severe discrimination in one of the world’s most expensive sports.
Of her many hindering memories dealing with the Iranian Ski Federation, Ahmadi recalls how due to a host of in-fighting within the organization, she was left with no choice but to attend the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic games with no coach. “Ski is a sport that the athlete needs a lot of support — imagine having no coach and no support on the world stage — it was perhaps one of the worst experiences that any athlete can ever have.”
Even though she was Iran’s flag-bearer in the opening ceremony of the Olympics and the only woman to qualify for the games, it didn’t take her much longer to decide she needed to leave her homeland in pursuit of her dreams, but more so the right to be appreciated for her talent and hard work. “In Iran, I was constantly fighting for what I deserved and was my right,” she explains of how for years her father and various sponsors were the sole providers for her gear, and how the federation failed to pay not just for her salary, but for any equipment, travel costs for any of her global tournaments, or even the national team champion’s health insurance.
In late January 2023, Atefeh was left with no choice but to leave Iran and seek asylum in Germany.
What would you like to tell your fellow Iranian sisters? The women and girls of Iran?
“That we’d soon get to the many rights that we’ve deserved for so long; and live life freely without any belittling and discrimination. I hope Iran gets freed and all the Iranians get to live side by side in freedom and liberty inside Iran.”
Dina Pouryounes, an Olympic Taekwondo athlete for Iran and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team
Growing up in a family where both parents were Taekwondoins, Dina Pouryounes began training at age three. At only 14, she joined Iran’s national team and, over the years, won more than 20 national gold medals in her home country.
However, much of her success came with a high emotional and physical toll as the young champion was the victim of frequent bullying by her teammates, discrimination by federation officials, and worse yet, physical abuse by the national team’s Korean coach starting in 2011. Even though her mother was her personal coach, there was not much she could do for her young daughter as she didn’t have the support of the federation and was oftentimes silenced by intimidation and lies.
Pouryounes remained one of the most talented and hardworking Taekwondo talents in Iran until she could no longer bear the heavy mental and physical pain of being part of a team and system where hard work and merit were ignored.
“I had a comfortable life in Iran with the support of my parents and didn’t need to leave; but was left with no choice because the coaches and management only wanted to advance their own students and favourites.” In late 2014, Pouryounes defected and took asylum in the Netherlands—leaving behind her two loving parents and their never-ending support. In 2015, with little to no emotional and technical support, she won her first international medal at the Polish Open while she was still living in an asylum centre.
Today, at age 31, Pouryounes is one of the top three world champions in her weight and class with an impressive 34 world ranking medals and was the first refugee athlete to compete in a World Taekwondo Championships. In 2020 she competed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games as part of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team.
What would you like to tell your fellow Iranian sisters? The women and girls of Iran?
“I’m proud of the brave women and men in my country who are courageously standing strong, in unity, and fighting for their dreams of a free Iran with no thoughts of surrendering. Hoping for the freedom of our homeland.”
Sadaf Khadem, an Iranian boxer
Sadaf Khadem is a warrior and has always fought for her dreams. In 2019, she made history as the first Iranian woman to compete in an official amateur boxing match in the seaside city of Royan, France, against her French counterpart Anne Chauvin.
She won that fight – a match that she couldn’t have a chance to experience back in her home country, as female boxing is banned under the current regime in Iran. Through her hard work, tenacity, and a friend (a fellow Iranian-born boxer in France), Khadem secured a visa for her fight with Chauvin – she never came to France to seek asylum.
However, in the aftermath of her highly publicised win, she was told of security threats against her back in Iran. It was then that the young fighter decided to stay in her now new home — taking on a job in a farm to make ends meet, studying day in and day out, and pursuing a degree, all the while continuing her sport against the backdrop of uncertainty, distance from her family, and life in a foreign country.
Today, she considers Royan home and doesn’t want to compete under the IOC flag for the refugee team. April will be four years since Khadem’s departure from Iran – where after much time in amateur boxing, she has decided to start professional boxing –with her first match being on April 22nd.
While her growth in the past few years reflects Khadem’s undeniable willpower, so much of that journey took place against a backdrop of severe hardship for the young woman. In 2021, for the first time after Covid, Khadem saw her mother in Turkey. Little did she know that just weeks after, her mother will die in Tehran over complications caused by the Coronavirus. That tragedy was followed by her father’s illness — prompting the young boxer to want to leave her life in Royan and move to one of Iran’s neighbouring countries in order to be closer to her father. But once again, armed with her iron strength and determination, Khadem decided to stay in France in pursuit of the dreams she sacrificed so much for in the past—all the while promising herself never to forget her loved ones and her country of birth. So much that beyond boxing, working at a company as well as a gym, and also studying toward her degree, Khadem has recently — with the help of her sister in Iran — launched her own clothing brand Savanka in honour of the Iranian culture and art, and in an effort to create job opportunities for female artisans back in Iran.
What does women, life, freedom mean to you?
“You know for the longest time I had the highest respect for “women”, then lived a life where I got to meet so many incredible men who supported me in the toughest moments. So today, I believe in the power of humanity and harmony and the need of these two elements in every society.”
The Iran Federation of Sport Association did not respond to GLAMOUR's request for a comment.
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