Iran women’s ski coach barred from traveling to world championships by husband

The Iranian women’s national alpine ski team travelled to Italy on Wednesday for the world championships without their head coach after her husband did not give her permission, as required by law, to leave the country.

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Iran’s Shargh daily, which first reported the news on Wednesday, did not say why Samira Zargari’s husband had not allowed her to leave. The ski federation and Zargari herself have not commented either.

Marjan Kalhor, a longtime member of the women’s national alpine ski team, will be replacing Zargari, the daily said.

This is not the first time husbands have barred female athletes from travelling abroad for sports tournaments.

Under Iranian law, a married woman is required to get her husband’s approval while unmarried women need written approval from their father to obtain a passport and travel abroad.

In 2017, Zahra Nemati, a Paralympic and Olympic archer, was barred from leaving the country by her husband.

In 2015, Niloufar Ardalan, captain of the Iranian women’s futsal team, missed the Asian Cup tournament after her husband confiscated her passport.

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