Iran International
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) is facing mounting criticism for removing a video showing the women's team from Iran dancing in celebration after Iranian authorities deemed it “un-Islamic” and formally demanded its removal.
The clip, posted earlier this week during the Asia Cup Division B tournament in China, was deleted just two hours later.
Iranian officials had cited in their complaint with FIBA a breach of the Islamic Republic’s codes of conduct.
“Red lines exist only for women. Men can express their happiness however they wish," sports journalist Saeedeh Fathi told Iran International TV, adding that the incident shows how “even a simple expression of joy by women is intolerable” to the Islamic Republic.
Iranian-American activist Masih Alinejad accused FIBA of enabling state repression.
“You can’t claim to represent international sport while bowing to the demands of a gender apartheid regime,” she posted on X. “This is not ‘respect for culture’—it is complicity with the Islamic Republic.”
Hassan Moezzifar, secretary of Iran’s Basketball Federation, confirmed that FIBA removed the clip following a formal request on July 14.
“This was an unprofessional act by FIBA,” he told sports outlet Haft-e Sobh. “They published the video without coordination. If they had reached out, we would have explained our protocols and avoided the issue.”
Moezzifar insisted the players would not face punishment, but reiterated that such displays conflict with Iran’s Islamic regulations.
Dancing as resistance
In Iran, public dancing—especially by women—is officially banned and often labeled as moral corruption. Solo female singing is also prohibited.
Despite these restrictions, dancing and singing have become quiet forms of resistance.
Videos of women dancing in public—sometimes with headscarves, often without—routinely circulate on social media. Many appear spontaneous and receive encouragement from onlookers, challenging the state’s claim that such acts offend societal values.
But the risks are real: In April 2024, a female student in Bushehr was threatened with expulsion after a video of her dancing at a graduation ceremony went viral.
It remains unclear whether the basketball players’ celebration was a deliberate act of defiance or simply a moment of joy. Either way, the state’s reaction—and FIBA’s compliance—has sparked a new round of public debate over gender, joy and control.
Athletes under pressure
Iranian athletes have increasingly used international platforms to protest state repression. During the Women, Life, Freedom protest movement of 2022–2023, many players refused to sing the national anthem.
In August 2023, after a win over Mongolia, most of Iran’s women’s basketball team remained silent during the anthem. But more recently, footage of the same team singing and saluting the flag during their July 2025 match against Singapore was widely broadcast by Iranian state media.
Similar footage of the women’s soccer team during a tournament in Vietnam showed players giving a military-style salute—interpreted by the state as proof of restored loyalty.
