Faezeh Hashemi: This Sports Minister is Not Fit for Ahmadinejad's Government Either

Faezeh Hashemi, a former member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly and daughter of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, criticized Mahmoud Goudarzi, the Minister of Sports, stating that he is not even suitable for Ahmadinejad's government. Hashemi, who has been the president of the Women's Sports Federation since 1990 and hosted the Islamic Women's Games, mentioned that this federation was shut down in 2011, two months after an attack on her office, and claimed that it has not been reinstated even under the moderate government. In an interview with the sports newspaper 90, she discussed women's presence in stadiums, saying, "Women attended stadiums during Ahmadinejad's era, but sometimes this issue is highlighted for political exploitation and to show power. If women's presence is against Sharia, how was it not against Sharia during Ahmadinejad's time?" She continued, "We all know that solving this problem is not even in Rouhani's hands. However, my point is that the Minister of Sports, when faced with opposition, could have at least taken a stance. Interestingly, the Volleyball Federation announced that the entry of non-Iranian women is allowed! This is very ugly." Previously, Shahindokht Molaverdi, Rouhani's deputy, strongly criticized the ban on women's presence in stadiums. The continued prohibition of women's attendance at volleyball matches comes after the International Volleyball Federation withdrew hosting rights for several global competitions from Iran last year, partly due to this ban. Hashemi described the privatization of Persepolis and Esteghlal as a "show and display" and noted, "Goudarzi is a completely submissive and directive manager and has no concrete plans or strategies of his own. The suspicion of decision-makers is that if Persepolis and Esteghlal are privatized, they will lose influence and may even choose a president through their impact." Hashemi emphasized that women's sports are generally not taken seriously, citing that when Afsharzadeh faced financial issues, his first action was to eliminate the women's football team, suggesting that removing women is the easiest solution. Regarding the Minister of Sports, she stated, "Goudarzi has acted passively. He seems to be closer to Ahmadinejad's government than Rouhani's. Perhaps it is better to say he is not even fit for Ahmadinejad's government because Ahmadinejad was destructive, but Goudarzi does not even destroy!" She noted that the president formed a working group for cabinet selection, and during that time, the sports working group introduced several candidates to him, but unfortunately, they were not considered. She mentioned the issue of "liberating women's cycling" saying it was not directly related to her, but a political opportunity arose that became associated with her name. At a seminar held by Karbaschi in Chitgar, she stated that as a means of transportation, both men and women should be able to ride it without any religious issues. Opponents tried to use this as a tool against her, but it backfired. Hashemi further stated, "I don't know why women are not given licenses for motorcycling. I saw a woman in Iranshahr riding a motorcycle with hijab. I was both surprised and delighted. She said she managed to get a license through persistence. I don't understand why these small, solvable problems are unnecessarily exaggerated." Recently, the Associated Press reported on a female motorcyclist from Iran, stating that Behnaz Shafiei finds life impossible without this vehicle in a country where women's motorcycling is banned. According to the AP, girls are not allowed to ride motorcycles in the Azadi Stadium, so Behnaz, 26, and other interested girls practice in the outskirts of cities, meaning on non-standard tracks with very low safety coefficients. Regarding the reactivation of the Islamic Women's Sports Federation, Hashemi said that despite requesting it under Rouhani, they did not agree, which was surprising. When asked by the 90 newspaper reporter, who is a member of the political committee of the Kargozaran Sazandegi Party, who the most political person in the country is, Hashemi named her father and emphasized that she does not know anyone else.