Global Sport Matters: Introducing The Long Game

Global Sport Matters

This episode is from producer and storyteller Karen Given and originally aired on The Long Game Podcast. Tune in next week for the companion episode, "Sports, Politics and Athlete Activism."

Episode: Athletes Join the Fight for Women's Rights in Iran

About this episode: At first glance, the protests in Iran might not seem like a sports story. But in the lead-up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, there were calls to bar Iran from the soccer tournament altogether over the government’s treatment of women. Women in Iran have more rights than women in a place like Afghanistan. They have access to education. They can vote. They can be elected to Parliament. But they can’t choose whether or not to wear the hijab. And until recently, they couldn’t attend sporting events in person. That’s how sports and women’s rights came to be intertwined in Iran.

The Long Game is a production of Foreign Policy and Doha Debates highlighting stories of courage and conviction on and off the field.

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