Basij Sports Against Women's Wrestling

The head of the Basij Sports Organization has expressed opposition to women's wrestling activities in Iran, stating that if the priority of the country's sports is the presence of women, then the doors should be closed on sports in the country. Davood Azarnoush told Fars News Agency that if we are to pay any price for participation in the Olympics, nothing will hold together. Azarnoush criticized Rasoul Khadem, saying, "I am surprised that someone who is revolutionary and religious is pursuing the presence of women in international wrestling competitions. Why are we insisting that women participate in all sports? If this is the case, tomorrow we should also pursue women's weightlifting!" These remarks come at a time when the outfit designed for women's wrestling has no connection to the Olympics and is a new method for holding wrestling competitions. It is a method for Iran and athletes from Islamic countries who wish to compete with full hijab. Azarnoush criticized Khadem again, stating, "Last year, they lost in America in that disgrace. They might ask why you relate martyrdom to sports, but everyone should know that we have given martyrs to defend our ideals. How do we know that tomorrow our women will be sent to competitions and the referee will not be a man?" It is unclear which competition Azarnoush considers a 'disgraceful defeat in America' since the Iranian national freestyle wrestling team won the World Cup in Los Angeles for the third consecutive time. Azarnoush deemed only sports like shooting as permissible for women and sarcastically commented on Khadem's membership in the global federation, saying, "If we are to go to the international federation to gain a position to do these things, it is better not to be present at all. We are not supposed to do everything that Europeans do." The head of the Basij Sports Organization emphasized, "Is the first priority of sports in the country the presence of women? If so, we should really close the doors on sports in the country. There are moral standards in our culture and religion that contradict global standards." In this regard, Rasoul Khadem stated that Iran has proposed holding this new method of wrestling with full coverage to the World Wrestling Federation for the development of wrestling among Muslim women. This style of wrestling has been accepted in a meeting of the wrestling commission under the World Federation in Istanbul. The 1996 Atlanta Olympic champion told the wrestling federation's public relations site that the new method of women's wrestling considers the beliefs and cultures of those who are not interested in participating in the current conditions of women's wrestling worldwide. Khadem believes that the current outfit for women's wrestling is "not approved by many European and American women who are Olympic and world medalists," although he did not reference the source of this claim. A member of the executive board of the World Federation emphasized that the type of coverage in this new method protects from head to toe. Additionally, the heads of female wrestlers are protected with a special cap and ear protection.