During the Women’s Asian Football Cup in Australia, in 2026, Zahra Ghanbari and several companions requested political asylum, for fear of receiving reprisals in Iran. The trigger was that the team did not sing during the national anthem, as a sign of protest for what is happening in that country, where there is no freedom. And although in a later match, they did so forced by the pressure and threats of the Republican Guard to their families, they had already been included on a list, like so many others, opposed to the regime.
A few days after requesting asylum in Australia, Zahra Ghanbari decided to return and risk her life. The cause was obvious to everyone: pressure and intimidation by the Iranian authorities on the family of the team captain. Faced with this return, the football world decided to look the other way and remain silent. The human rights of Iranians are seen to be excluded within the UN Magna Carta.
As soon as she landed in Iran, Zahra Gahnbari was detained and her name appeared days later on the official list of people considered “traitors”. Many for less, have been hanged for a long time. The Iranian authorities, not content with that, came to confiscate your assets (money and property).
However, an Iranian court, in April of this year, lifted this sanction and returned his assets, after what the authorities described as a change in behavior.
The captain of the Iranian team has been involved in a delicate political case and some pressure from a foreign nation, which has helped said player not to be on the verge of being hanged. His return, conditioned by the infamous extortion of the Iranian government, and his partial rehabilitation, he continues to be on the lists of people under surveillance, does not please many of the government hierarchs.
Unquestionably, she is not the captain of the Iranian team and her position was greatly weakened, within the same team. All the players were given a corrective and above all they were pressured through their families, but that something similar would not happen again and they were urged to maintain a low profile, where one of the main issues was not to make statements contrary to the Iranian government, its laws and its guardians of morality.
In general, athletes in Iran are monitored under a strict permanent police presence, even when they travel abroad. Without a doubt, the practices of the Iranian government can remind us of those political commissars of the old USSR who attended all the sports events where their players went, in order to keep them under pressure so that they would not defect.
Zahra Ghanbari currently has her rights to move freely restricted, her economic resources controlled and her immediate family, especially her mother, threatened. He has lost his leadership in the national team, and above all his incorporation into football, at this time is limited.
There are many athletes in a similar situation in Iran. As an example: Elnaz Rekabi, climber; In 2022, during protests in Iran, with hundreds of deaths, murdered by the regime, Elnaz competed without a hijab and when she returned to the country, there were doubts about whether she did so voluntarily or under pressure. Even so, he disappeared from the international spotlight for some time and when he reappeared, he did so with a much lower profile and controlled by the regime’s guard. Kimia Alizadeh, Olympic taekwondo medalist, was once a similar case, however, she requested asylum in Europe and today competes for another country. He has publicly denounced the regime’s restrictions when he has had the opportunity. Saeid Mollaei (judo) was clear from the first moment in which he was forced to lose fights to avoid facing Israel, in order not to generate a political conflict by losing to any of the Star of David judokas. Today he competes for Mongolia and carries out his activity outside the regime.
To understand what female athletes in Iran are subjected to, we must understand both layers of what is happening. The first is the “normal” structure, the second is the political-religious context that conditions everything.
The “normal” structure.- The Iranian Football Federation controls the team, just like in any country; calls players, organizes concentrations and registers the team in international tournaments (AFC, FIFA). The current team was refounded in 2005 and competes mainly in Asia, where it has achieved some regional successes.
The political-religious context, the other normality.- Players must comply with a series of specific rules: the mandatory use of the hijab even when competing and wearing uniforms adapted to “modesty standards.” This undoubtedly generated conflicts with FIFA and in 2011, this sporting establishment temporarily banned Iran from competing due to the veil issue, until FIFA adapted the regulations. Even something as basic as equipment has always depended on political and religious negotiations.
On the other hand, it is important to understand the social limitations of women in sports. Women’s football in Iran is not just a sport, it is almost a social act. For decades, women couldn’t even enter stadiums as an audience; Women’s football has been and is seen as something “not appropriate” in certain sectors, there is less investment, visibility and support than men’s football. This directly affects the youth team, professionalism and competitive level.
The institutional control over the players is total and here is one of the keys to the Zahra Ghanbari case. Soccer players, all athletes in general, represent the country, they are “political” figures; They are subject to rules of behavior (on and off the field) and can also suffer consequences if they make gestures considered political (such as not singing the anthem). In 2026, the international football players’ union (FIFPRO) came to denounce the situation of the women’s team and ask for protection for them. I know that some men’s soccer players who play in Middle Eastern countries intervened so that extreme measures were not taken, and the Qatari Government also interceded.
Of course, their movements when traveling are supervised, there is permanent pressure to maintain a specific image of the country and issues such as those that occurred in Australia show that they do not always feel free to decide. International tournaments, in non-Muslim countries, are always a sensitive moment for athletes.
How can you compete in football with this pressure? How is the role of women in Iranian society? Reduced to the minimum expression and controlled by politicians and religious people.
The clear conclusion is that the Iranian women’s team does not function like any team, but under highly restrictive conditions: less individual freedom, more institutional pressure, more symbolic burden. Transgressing all of this can lead to charges of treason and, as has happened to other athletes, death by hanging.
In Iranian women’s football, women are subjected to the devastating situation of constantly suffering fanatical and sectarian religious harassment that goes against their most basic human rights. International society does not seem to understand the problem and does nothing. A shame for those who, knowing all this, continue to wink at the Iranian regime, in exchange for money or oil.
Originally published at LaDamadeElche.com
