Jean-Baptiste Sarrazin
modified to
12:23 a.m., October 21, 2022
Out of sight but close to the heart. Mansour Bahrami and Mahyar Monshipour have never forgotten their country of origin, Iran, which saw them grow but not blossom. And it is today, from France, that the two former champions have decided to support the current fight that women are leading in Iran.
“I am in total admiration in front of these young people who fight for their freedom”, declared with emotion Mansour Bahrami in the emission Europe 1 Sport. “People have been oppressed in Iran for 43 years. The youth are fed up,” added Mahyar Monshipour, before continuing: “When you don’t give freedom to young people and people, they are fed up. fed up at some point.”
The female body, a political tool
The deprivation of liberty also affects the practice of sport in Iran. Gymnastics or even judo, which are practiced in outfits that reveal the body, are prohibited for women there.
“The female body has become a political issue in Iran”, assured Mansour Bahrami at the microphone ofEurope 1 Sport. “How can a government regime look at a beginner woman wearing a tank top”, asked Mahyar Monshipour, continuing: “The woman’s body does not belong to men, let’s leave it to them”. The latter has also made the choice to repatriate a young Iranian boxer to France so that she can practice this sport in complete freedom.
Boycott the Iranian authorities
For these two Franco-Iranians, it is now difficult to hear from their relatives in Iran. “Iranians are cut off from the world. There is no internet anymore. So people cannot directly communicate with each other,” said Mahyar Monshipour. They are still trying to make the connection between the West and Iran. “We are invested with a mission. I try to be a bridge between Iran and the West to make heard the voice of Iranians who can no longer take it,” assured Mansour Bahrami.
To mobilize, to enjoin the French leaders to boycott and not to go and shake hands with members of the Iranian government, these are acts which today seem essential to them, in order to continue to fight for the freedom of Iranian women.