Iranian Woman Banned From Asian Tourney By Husband
Iran’s women national team captain, Niloofar Ardalan has been banned from attending the Asian championships by her husband Mehdi Tutunchi, a sportscaster. Ardalan was hoping to attend the Asian futsal – a five a-side tournament – as captain but she has been banned from doing so by her husband who exercised his right under Islamic laws to allow his wife travel from home. The championship runs from September 21 to 26 in Nilai but Ardalan would not be attending as the date coincides with her seven-year-old son’s first day at school. In a bid to advocate for a change in the Islamic laws, Ardalan went public to plead her right to represent her country. She told Iran’s NASIM news agency: “I wish authorities would pass a law for sportswomen so we can defend our rights in these circumstances. “As a Muslim woman I wanted to raise the flag of my country, I wasn’t going there for fun.” The national team captain said her passport expired and her will not si...