Iran Ranked Among the 'Most Depressed Countries in the World'

Mahmoud Goudarzi states that Iran, according to global statistics, is a depressed society and 'unfortunately ranks 105th out of 150 countries in terms of depression.' According to the Minister of Sports and Youth of Iran, this statistic indicates a terrifying rise in depression within society. Thus, among 150 countries, only the people of 45 countries are more depressed than Iranians. Goudarzi considers sports to be a remedy for this depression. He claims that creating happiness is very costly and these costs should be viewed as a significant investment. According to the news agency of the Ministry of Sports, Goudarzi reminded that industrial and powerful countries invest even for a single gold medal, and Iran should not lag behind this trend, but 'a 100% increase in budgets will not suffice for the vast volume of demands.' The Ministry of Sports considers sports to be the cure for societal depression, while a review of sports news in state media indicates that dissatisfaction and depression are also evident within the sports community and among sports elites! Currently, Persepolis and Esteghlal, as the most popular sports teams, are not injecting vitality into society and are rapidly heading towards producing depression. The head coach of the national volleyball team, coaches of the national freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling teams, as well as coaches of the national taekwondo, karate, and weightlifting teams, which are the most medal-winning sports, have repeatedly spoken about their poor morale and dissatisfaction with their teams. In this meeting, the Vice President and government spokesperson were also present and did not make any promises regarding securing financial resources for the country's sports in line with 'curing societal depression.' Nobakht stated that oil revenues have decreased from $118 billion to $24 billion, and we must manage the country with that. Meanwhile, many unfinished projects remain. Mohammad Baqer Nobakht believes that 'our current situation resembles a disease where they say you have symptoms of illness but are improving compared to the past.' The situation in women's sports is far more complicated than that of men's sports, and under current conditions, it seems unlikely that women's sports can help improve Iran's position in the 'global depression ranking.' One of the issues that likely contributes to the promotion of depression among Iranian girls is the prohibition of their presence in stadiums. Robab Shahrian, Deputy for Women's Sports Development, states that the presence of families in stadiums is not a sports demand but rather a demand from women in society, yet the Ministry of Sports is not the final decision-maker. She noted that sports that have suitable conditions for women's presence in stadiums have been examined on a case-by-case basis. However, she did not mention any specific sports and refrained from introducing the institutions that hold the 'final decision.' Ms. Shahrian stated that there are many vacant positions for women in the country and 'unfortunately, there is no specific authority for women's sports in cities.' She emphasized that the share allocated to women's sports in the media is also less than seven percent. It is likely that written media or radio was what the women's sports officials in Iran had in mind, as the share of women's sports and the broadcasting of their competitions compared to men's on the Islamic Republic's television networks does not even reach one percent.