by Stefano Vaccara
NEW YORK (UNITED STATES) (ITALPRESS) – On the opening day of the United Nations’ large annual conference on the state of women, the Glass Palace has also reached the harsh and painful voice of those who denounce the violence of the Iranian regime. In an event organized by the mission of Israel to the UN, some Iranian activists and athletes have told persecutions, threats and discrimination suffered for the simple fact of being women asking for freedom. Among the strongest interventions that of the footballer of the Iranian national Shiva Amini, today sheltered abroad, who has pronounced a testimony that has shaken the hall. “I’m here to testify against this murder regime,” said Amini before Israeli ambassador Danny Danon and other diplomats and journalists. His personal history has become the symbol of a reality that concerns millions of women in the country.
She grew up in Iran, told she was arrested as a young man simply for trying to enter a football stadium. “For the rest of my life the regime threatened me with rape, death, whipping and prison,” he denounced. “I was humiliated and denied the most basic rights.” According to Amini the sport, which should teach respect and dignity, in Iran has instead become an instrument of political propaganda. The athletes are subjected to ideological controls, forced to follow strict religious rules and even refuse to compete against Israeli sportsmen. “We were not allowed to talk to Israeli athletes or shake hands at men’s arbitrators,” he said. “We were always guarded by officials who controlled even if the veil moved during the matches.” In 2017 his career was destroyed after the publication of a photo that portrayed her while playing without hijab in Switzerland. The regime accused her of being a “spic of the enemy”, banning her from competitions and threatening her family.
“I lost everything in a moment: my home, my security, my family,” he said. “I couldn’t even return for my father’s funeral.” Amini then launched an urgent appeal for Iranian national players, who recently refused to sing the hymn of the regime during a game in Australia and now would be under threat. The footballer also accused the regime of persecuting and killing athletes participating in the protests. “In my country national champions are rewarded with bullets, not with medals,” he said. In the final of his intervention he addressed directly to the president of FIFA Gianni Infantino, asking that international federation exclude Iran from sports competitions.
“Sport is not a place for terrorists and criminals,” he said. “Are you on the side of Iranian athletes or the regime that kills them?” His speech ended with an appeal to the international community and the United Nations: “State on the side of freedom. Justice. History.”.
– photo IPA Agency –
(ITALPRESS).
