Shirzanan – by Maryam Majd. Please see the last part HERE.

Shirzanan reports that last week Ali Kaffashian, the head of Iran football federation in an interview with ISNA said, “If we have a budget deficit we will cut off women’s programs.”

This statement has caused many reactions. The head coach of Iran women’s national football team said, “ Unfortunately existence of Iranian women’s football for the head of Iran’s federation is not important. This shows women’s football has no value for them.”

The team cannot play in any international competition if their designed athletic dress does not get the approval from the International athletic board of Iran. Khojasteh, the head of the beach volleyball committee explained, “this new design should get the approval for the 2013 Muslim Country Athletic events.”

The first award was the deployment to an international competition, the second and third prizes were financial aids to buy shooting equipments.

Sheikhyfar, the head of shooting league told Shirzanan, “ As you know most of the shooters have contracts with their clubs and in their contracts they all get awarded when they win a medal, so we decided to give the clubs they are playing for a financial aid to buy new equipment.”

Etemad Melli reports, “Before this event Iranian women has never participated in winter Olympics. But this year with a 120 score they could get in. The winter Olympics will be in 2010 in Vancouver, Canada.

16 players competed and at the end Elena Titarenkov got to the first place with 27 scores. ISNA reports that Neda Shahsavary from Kermanshah and Iran’s national champion in table tennis got to the second place and Sahar Rahnama from Azarbaijan Sharghy got to the third place. Sahar Rahnama is 16 and this is the first time that a 16-year-old female gets into a national women’s team.

..... he shopping area around the stadium, where most of Mantua shops in Tehran are located was crowded with women who probably didn’t know about the Badminton championship, thus one street away the stadium was empty.

Sarah S. 18, who was shopping in the mall at the time, told Shirzanan, “ I didn’t know about the badminton game, there was no banners and they should make more ads, like for men’s football game. Her friend Maryam, 20, said, “I didn’t know we have a national women’s badminton team in Iran. I didn’t know Iran could be the host of international women’s matches. I would have followed the competition if I knew about it.”

Fajr Women’s athletic competition is not the only women’s sports event that passes silently. Almost all women’s sports matches are like this. Samira 14, who is a determined follower of men’s sports said, “It is easier and more exciting to watch men’s game. It is everywhere on TV, newspapers and magazines. Women athletes are amateur.”

Kiana 23 who is a third year student in Athletics, Azad University, explained, “I study athletics and physical education, but I don’t follow women’s sports events like I follow men’s. Women’s sports is way behind the standard level, at least compared to the international level. I prefer to go to a Café rather than to watch women’s competitions.”

Even having women’s sports games in weekends doesn’t help. So far women’s athletic events has only gained viewers when they were held simultaneously and along men’s competition.”

A shop owner in Hafteh Tir Square has an interesting view; he said, “ The news f women’s sports event gets around. It is not the problem of news coverage. It is women themselves who are not interested.”

Based on Homa Saleh ‘s academic research on the subject, the main reason for the unpopularity of women’s sports in Iran is that women’s sports is much younger than men’s sports. Homa Saleh, who is a MA student in physical and athletic education in Isfahan said, “The lack of media coverage on women’s sports in Iran is one reason in the slow development of women’s sports in the country, but the main reason is that women’s sports is very new.”

It is important for us, women, to make note of women’s sports development and help its growth and there is no excuse for our lack of attention to women’s sports. We, women, need to take a step in supporting women’s sports in Iran, when we expect the sports authorities and officials to change their manner toward women’s sports.