Icon: enlarge
Samira Zargari did not travel to Italy
Photo:
Samira Zargar / Instagram
Iran's head coach Samira Sargari did not travel to the world championship in alpine skiing in Cortina d'Ampezzo.
Apparently her husband forbade her to travel to Italy - an Iranian law that allows this is now criticized by human rights activists and even compared to slavery.
At the world championships, the Iranian racing driver Forough Abbasi said on Thursday after the first run of the giant slalom: “It's a rule in Iran.
We're trying to change them. ”The 27-year-old and three of her teammates had to forego Sargari's support.
“It's not the first time something like this has happened.
I wish we could change it - all women in Iran together, "Abbasi said, and was confident.
“I'm sure you will change that.
We have so many strong women who want to change this rule. "
Basically, life is not that hard for a woman in Iran, said racing driver Abbasi.
“We can do whatever we want.
There are a few rules like this, but not for everyone.
Perhaps one in a thousand women has these problems. ”Her trainer Sargari was“ really a free woman, if you see where she has been all over the world and how much she has traveled.
Sometimes that just happens. «Sargari herself has not yet commented on the case, and on Instagram she wished her team every success.
Sharp criticism in Iran
In Iran, the criticism was sometimes much sharper.
The well-known lawyer Farideh Ghejrat told the Ilna news agency that men can forbid their wives to leave the country is "a law that has no place in the 21st century."
Abroad, the rule is not accepted, a loss of image, especially at major international events, is the result.
Similar to the racing driver Abbasi, she is calling for the law to be abolished.
The human rights activist Hassan Assadi-Sejabadi even accused the Iranian judiciary of slavery.
"We are dealing with a legal system in which one person can decide the fate of another person (...) that borders on slavery," wrote the activist on Twitter.
Many expressed their solidarity with Sargari on social media.
There was no further reaction to the case from the FIS World Ski Federation on Thursday - the day before, at the dpa request, it had been said that they wanted to first contact the Iranian Ski Association.
In recent years, several Iranian top athletes have been banned from leaving the country in situations similar to those at Sargari - for example Nilufar Ardalan, captain of the women's national indoor soccer team, shortly before their departure for the 2015 Asian Cup.
Icon: The mirror
ptz / dpa