On Monday, Iranian professional soccer World Cup players refused to sing their national anthem. The day before, young players from a Tehran basketball team posed without their usually obligatory headscarves. A snapshot that quickly made the rounds of social networks..
The image shows the teenage girls dressed in red jerseys, bare hair, gathered on the basketball court with their instructors.
The team’s head coach, Farzaneh Jamani, first shared the photo on her Instagram page with this message of support: “Teach your daughters that gender roles are nothing other than nonsense. Teach them. You are precious and irreplaceable. If you are told otherwise, don’t believe it. »
“Tell them, ‘Don’t hide. Get up, hold your head up high and show them what you got!” Tell them you are powerful and capable, you are a woman of freedom,” Ms.me Jamami in legend.
Shared on Sunday, the Instagram post garnered thousands of likes and comments; She quickly made the rounds on social media. “Brave and proud lady. Thank you for teaching freedom to our daughters,” one user said in Persian, Indian media reports.
On Twitter too, praise was raining, as this post by Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad demonstrates.
Another cultural earthquake. Iranian female basketball team removed their hijab and posted their unveiled photo on Instagram to protest against the main pillar of a gender apartheid regime.
They published the photo with this slogan;
Woman Life Freedom.#MahsaAmini pic.twitter.com/eQBkiedOgL— Masih Alinejad ????️ (@AlinejadMasih) November 19, 2022
A Canadian company at the heart of the debate
But these congratulations visibly displeased the basketball club in question, Canco Canada BC, sponsored by a Canadian multinational — Canco Canada — which produces school supplies. The company has financially supported the Tehran club since 2013, according to its website.
Following numerous comments on Sunday, the club posted a long correction on their Instagram page, stating that while the club “respects the personal opinions of its members”, this should not be seen as a political commitment by the club or a “rejection of the hijab”. “The published image of the youth team of this club was a group and private photo before the start of the official match, which was used on the personal page of the head coach of this club, but no permission was given. has been released for repost and use in other networks and media. »
The coach behind the post later posted a message of apology, which was notably picked up by Releasethen made his personal Instagram page private.
Sport has become an “extremely sensitive” topic in Iran in recent weeks, AFP reports. In October, athlete Elnaz Rekabi competed without a hijab in the Asian Climbing Championships, a gesture that was interpreted as support for popular discontent in Iran. The climber had also written an apology message on Instagram afterwards.
Two months ago, the death of Mahsa Amini, detained by the morality police for wearing an “inappropriate” headscarf, sparked a major revolt in Iran. Led by Iranian women, the movement calls for the overthrow of the mullahs’ conservative regime.
According to the NGO Iran Human Rights, the repression of the demonstrations has since killed more than 300 people, including many children. Thousands of protesters are in jail. Any position against the regime remains extremely risky for Iranians. In 2019, boxer Sadaf Khadem participated bareheaded in an official fight; she has since gone into exile in France.
Canco Canada was contacted by The duty. The article will be updated if there is a response.