It was long frowned upon for women to practise karate in Iran. But this has been changing.
All martial arts were temporarily banned for women after the 1979 Islamic Revolution but were later reinstated under stricter dress code rules.
Earlier this month, Iranian karate athlete Atousa Golshadnezhad won a gold medal at the Islamic Solidarity Games in Saudi Arabia.
At the Asian Championships, the Iranian junior women’s under-21 team won 11 medals, including six golds.
Mina Mahadi is the vice-head of the women’s Kyokushin-Ryu karate section in Iran. She said it helped girls to gain confidence.
Afshin Torkpour is the head of Kyokushin-Ryu karate in Iran. Torkpour noted that women were turning to sports that “were once considered violent”.
At a karate tournament in Tehran, girls and boys were both present.
“This sport is anything but violent [because it] promotes discipline,” said Samaneh Parsa, a 44-year-old mother who has practised karate for five years with her daughter and son.
“I have observed its positive influence on children’s behaviour.”
