Women's Basketball in Iran; Years Away from Competition

The women's basketball community in Iran is protesting the lack of the national team's participation in international competitions. Marzieh Akbarabadi, in the previous government, referred to women's basketball as an 'extra sport.' The government has changed and Akbarabadi has been dismissed, but the status of the women's national basketball team remains the same as before. Iran has a long history in women's basketball in Asia. Before many countries in the continent began their activities, Iran had a regular women's basketball league in the 1970s. This league still exists, but there is no international contact. The last delegation was in 2008 when the national team went to Syria, finishing fourth in West Asia after defeating Iraq and losing to Lebanon and Syria. During this time, Iran's hosting of the West Asian competitions was canceled, with the basketball federation citing the presence of male coaches and referees in foreign teams as the reason. Mahmoud Mashhoon also stated that this issue contradicts our culture, beliefs, and religious values. Watching the competitions is another problem for women's basketball in Iran. Some social activists are working on the right to attend stadiums and watch men's competitions. However, female basketball players are also demanding the opposite: the right for their families to attend the hall to watch their competitions. Frank Teyari told ISNA: 'Women's basketball teams play with hijab, and we could see more spectators. If at least the families of the players can watch the games, it would be a good thing for the league. Families watching the games would also motivate them to invest, and many problems would be alleviated.' In the ranking match of the girls' super league, Zob Ahan, coached by Aylin Malekian, defeated Bandar Abbas Municipality and secured third place. In the final, Ararat managed to defeat Gas Tehran and stand on the championship podium. Baharak Zarrin Qaba was the head coach of Ararat, and the star of this team is Tina Isaian, who, according to national team players including Saideh Ali, 'Tina is ten steps above all players in Iran. She is an extraordinary player, and any team she is on will become a champion!' After these competitions, the head coach of the Gas team stated that the federation must take advantage of the remaining opportunity for women to participate in international competitions. If this opportunity is missed, the global federation will no longer pay attention to Iran. About six months have passed since the issuance of the global basketball federation's permit for women to participate in international arenas with Islamic hijab, but the Iranian national team remains in limbo and has not played even one friendly match during this time. Coaches and referees are also attending classes abroad at their own expense. Delaram Karimi, a prominent figure in this sport, believes that many players are tired of participating in unproductive camps. They have been attending camps for six years but ultimately are not sent to any competitions. What reason is there that the national team cannot go to international competitions? Saideh Ali, a national team player, shares a similar view: 'In this past year, there has been no news of the national team's camp, and we are supposed to have training after the league. After eight years, I hope to play an official match. One of my dreams is to participate in Asian competitions.' Frank Teyari has also emphasized that the federation must pursue organizing games for the women's national team more vigorously. They have long promised to form national team camps, but this has not happened yet. However, training without holding competitions is of no use. Some national team players are so hopeless that they have said they will not attend national team camps even if they are held because it is just training and no matches are being held. The global federation has set a limited deadline for the participation of hijab-wearing players in competitions, and several months of that have passed. According to Ms. Teyari, if Iran does not participate in international competitions during the remaining time, FIBA will no longer care about Iran. Marzieh Teke Akbarabadi, the former deputy for women in the Ministry of Sports, referred to the women's national basketball team as 'extra' in a meeting with women's basketball officials. Even if she had not expressed such a view, the foreign trips of women's basketball in the past decade speak volumes about the status of this sport. A trip to Malaysia for two friendly games and a trip to Syria for participation in the West Asian competitions. Aside from the national team, in the fall of 2013, in inter-university competitions hosted in Antwerp, the Azad University team participated under the name of the Red Crescent Society. A team consisting of Fahimeh Farati, Taraneh Kakavandpour, Sara Sadegh, Saideh Ali, Golnoush Sadr Rouhi, Mona Behbahani, and Sahar Najafi, which won the championship by defeating representatives from Albania and Belgium. Fataneh Hadoyi, head coach of the women's national basketball team, reacted to the situation of this sport by saying: 'We are really oppressed, and I have no doubt about this. We have not competed in any foreign country, and everything has been in Iran.' Mahmoud Mashhoon, the former president of the basketball federation, also responded to the criticisms by saying: 'In the men's section, none of our trips are opposed, but in women's, everyone becomes sensitive.'