by Leo Pu
Resistance takes many forms. Some people march in the streets, some people go online, and others, like Sadaf Khadem, enter the boxing ring. Khadem, an Iranian boxer, moved to France to pursue her passion for boxing. On 14 April 2019, she made history as the first Iranian-born woman to compete in and win an official boxing match. This image of Khadem, proudly holding her championship trophy, flexing her hard-trained muscles in her green Iranian jersey, captures more than just a sporting victory. It is also a political statement, a form of defiance, and a symbol of resistance to the Iranian state’s oppression of women. While Khadem’s boxing challenges the Islamic regime’s deeply ingrained patriarchy, it also challenges America’s persistent misrepresentation of Middle Eastern and Muslim women as oppressed and “in need of saving” (Abu-Lughod 2002). The photo of Khadem is revolutionary as it undermines two oppressive narratives at once: Iran’s legal and cultural restrictions on women in sports and America’s highly selective recognition of Middle Eastern women’s resistance.
Time and time again, America has appointed itself as the saviour of Middle Eastern women, reducing them to veiled and voiceless victims of their “backwards” culture. Marina Lazreg criticizes the Western tendency to view Middle Eastern women solely through the framework of religious or cultural oppression, arguing that such frameworks reinforce a neocolonial agenda that erases the lived experiences and actual struggles of Middle Eastern women (Lazreg 1994). Khadem’s jubilant photo disrupts these misrepresentations as she is unveiled, not silenced, and capable of defending herself. She is, in other words, strong, powerful, and capable of controlling her destiny.
Americans and other “westerners” often fail to understand this type of resistance as it does not fit their image of resistance. They chose to celebrate important figures such as Malala Yousafzai, whose visible resistance aligns with Western values of education and gender equality, but ignore figures like Khadem, whose gendered resistance fails to conform to “western” understandings of “proper” gender defiance.
Khadem’s victory was more than a personal achievement, it was an act of political resistance. Iranian officials labelled her boxing a crime as state laws prohibit women from participating in official boxing matches. Women are only allowed to train in private spaces with and other women. Consequently, many female boxers have to travel to Turkey to pursue their sport while at the same time risking their safety fighting in illegal matches without insurance or legal protections (“Iranian Woman Sadaf Khadem Makes Boxing History”). Khadem’s decision to train in France was not just about pursuing her passion but was an act of defiance against a regime that criminalizes women’s bodily autonomy. Khadem’s historical victory abroad was not celebrated back home, instead, Iranian officials issued a warrant for her arrest, charging her with competing in “improper attire” (“First Iranian Boxer”). Thus, Iran’s control over women goes beyond the ring as the state insists on controlling every aspect of their public lives.
Jina (Masha) Amini’s murder by Iran’s morality police in 2022 exposed the consequences of the state’s criminalization of women’s bodies, sparking massive protests. Some protesters took to the streets, while others like Khadem advocated for a non-violent, strategic, digital resistance. She urged hackers to expose government corruption and amplify the voices of the oppressed (“First Iranian Boxer”). Her actions, like those of many Iranian women rooted in defying systematic oppression, demonstrates the different possibilities of resistance. However, mainstream western media often dismisses digital resistance as effective compared to other, more traditional, forms of protest. They consistently fail to contemplate the fact that traditional forms of protest often compound the violent oppression women are resisting. The photo of Khadem challenges simplistic and Orientalist portrayals of Middle Eastern women in American media. Khadem’s resistance is overlooked as it does not conform to western media narratives of either women’s oppression or women’s defiance.
The photo does not merely capture one woman’s dream to box but the dreams of all Iranian women who have been denied their freedom. The injustice Iranian women face in Iran is compounded by the erasure of women’s resistance that does not fit western narratives of female liberation.
Xinrui Leofwin Pu (Leo) is a 2nd year undergraduate student majoring in Human Biology and minoring in Women and Gender Studies and Immunology at the University of Toronto. His passion for both the biomedical sciences and gender studies influence him to continue exploring the complex intersection of health and gender.
WGS340 WOMEN & REVOLUTION IN THE MIDDLE EAST 