Iranian women’s soccer team forfeits 2012 qualifier over head scarves

By Brooks PECK
The Iranian women's soccer team was in tears after being forced to forfeit a 2012 London Olympics qualifying match this past weekend because it showed up to play in hijabs. FIFA banned the Islamic head scarf in 2007, saying that it could cause choking injuries -- the same reason it gave for recently banning snoods (neck warmers). FIFA also has strict rules against any religious statements in team uniforms.
Since Iran refused to comply with these rules and didn't use the specially designed caps that its 2010 Youth Olympics team wore, Friday's match was abandoned by officials and a 3-0 win was awarded to Jordan as a result. The Football Federation of Iran said it will complain to FIFA about the ruling, but FIFA says assurances were made beforehand so that this situation would've been avoided.
From the AP:
"Despite initial assurances that the Iranian delegation understood this, the players came out wearing the hijab, and the head and neck totally covered, which was an infringement of the laws of the game," FIFA said in a statement. [...]
Jordan team officials also objected to the hijab rule before the game, but prepared to play by declining to select women who objected on religious grounds.
"The Iranian team and three Jordanian players were also banned from playing because they wore the traditional head cover," Rana Husseini, head of Jordan's women's football committee, told The Associated Press.
"The problem is that the head cover assigned and approved by FIFA for women players to wear does not suit them as it reveals part of the neck and this is not allowed and it is not acceptable," she said.
Iran also forfeited a second group match against Vietnam on Sunday, seriously damaging its chances of advancing to the London Olympics. It seems unlikely that its federation's complaints will help its case, though, since these rules are not new and compromises have been made in the past. It's just a shame these women were put in the middle of this debate between Iran's federation and FIFA and set up for disappointment.
SOURCE:
http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Iranian-women-s-soccer-team-forfeits-2012-qualif?urn=oly-wp280
MY TWO CENTS:
It's sad that these women are in the middle of this tug-of-war.
All they want to do is play and compete on a world stage, test their skills, make their country proud.
Some may be prepared to play without hijab, and that is their choice - they should be given a chance.
Some may not be willing to compromise hijab for football glory. Again, their choice.
I feel that Iran should find a middle ground here, a starting point towards FIFA's acceptance of full Islamic hijab on the field.
My IDEA: Iran should comply with the compromise offered to them by FIFA - the cap-like cover that covers only the hair. But continue to object to the rule and try to have it changed.
In the meantime, these girls can compete, show their skills (of which they have plenty!) and when they gain the admiration of the world due to their strength and uniqueness, the global football fanbase will be behind the girls when they fight for acceptance of Islamic hijab on the field. Over time it'll prove that their is no safety concern to stop them from wearing proper hijab while playing.
The more the world sees Muslim women competing with strength and spirituality, the more they'll accept Islamic dress on the field. It's just about shifting people's mindsets and attitudes towards hijab. But it won't happen overnight. It can happen over time though. And we have to take small steps. We cannot expect strictly secular organisations to completely fall-in-love over our religious dress codes. We can, however, take it one step at a time and take up their compromise with gratitude. Then the global shift towards accepting Islamic dress code begins.
And if the largest sporting body, FIFA, accepts it - other sporting bodies will too.
What do you think? Should Iran accept the compromise, or are they doing the right thing by refusing to budge away from Islamic hijab?