Emergence of a Crisis in the Iranian Girls’ Wushu Discipline

Crisis in the Iranian Girls’ Wushu Team

Following continued pressure on girls’ sports in Iran regarding the issue of mandatory hijab, it is reported that in the city of Shiraz, after the controversy over the girls’ marathon race, the national youth girls’ wushu championship has also been postponed.

Majid Maleki, the secretary of the national Wushu Federation, said on Saturday, May 13, that the youth championship in the girls’ age category was supposed to take place after the selection on June 1, and these girls were to enter the camp and prepare for the Asian competitions in Hong Kong, which unfortunately was canceled for unknown reasons, causing us significant problems.

Mr. Maleki stated that the authorities wrote that due to existing problems in the province, it is not advisable for these competitions to be held here, and the reason is not very clearly specified. However, the fact that they didn’t allow these competitions to be held caused serious damage to our plans, and now we are forced to choose another host and hold the girls’ age category championship as quickly as possible because we don’t have time and need to do this very quickly.