Iran’s female footballers faced an impossible choice, but we must not romanticise what they are going through | Shiva Mokri and Moones Mansoubi

When we watched the players of the Iranian women’s football team stand silently during the national anthem at the Women’s Asian Cup in Australia, it felt personal.

For many viewers, it was simply noted as a political gesture. But for Iranians watching around the world, that silence carried a message that was instantly understood. It felt like a handshake across distance, a quiet message delivered without slogans, without confrontation, without violence. A quiet signal between women who know what it means to live under a system where even the smallest act of autonomy can carry enormous consequences: disappearance, imprisonment or execution.

Now, the players face another form of pressure. Some will remain in Australia on temporary humanitarian visas. But that choice is not without cost. For many, staying abroad could mean continuous pressure on their families by the regime; it could mean never returning home as long as this regime remains in power, cutting them off from everything familiar – not just the streets of their cities, but the rhythms of family life.

For those who return, the burdens are no less heavy. They may have elderly parents to care for, relatives who depend on them financially, or loved ones whose lives are directly threatened by the Iranian regime. Every choice is fraught, every path dangerous. The players were described as “wartime traitors” by a state-linked commentator, who called for them to be “dealt with more severely”.

For the players caught between these realities, the dilemma must be overwhelming. Whether they remain abroad or return home, the cost will be deeply personal.

To understand why this moment resonates so strongly, it is impossible to separate it from the wider story of Iranian women. What we saw on that football field did not appear suddenly. It is the result of decades of feminist struggle, most visibly expressed in 2022 in the “Woman, life, freedom” movement, in which dozens lost their lives simply standing for basic human rights. Anti-regime protests have continued since then, with protests in January in response to the country’s economic crisis resulting in thousands of deaths.

The laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran impose structural discrimination against women, especially in the areas of family law and criminal law. Mandatory hijab, the right to divorce, custody and dowry, along with restrictions on employment and travel without the spouse’s permission, are among the main discriminatory laws.

Now the situation across Iran is worsening, as the US and Israel carry out strikes. The entire country lives under the shadow of war, as much as it has long lived under political repression. In this chaos, these athletes’ lives are caught between forces far beyond their control.

It is important not to romanticise what they are going through. Seeking refuge is rarely a triumphant moment. It comes with grief, uncertainty and the painful possibility of a long separation from home.

Yet even in this quiet, constrained act, there is something extraordinary. Iranian women have shown incredible courage and resilience. They have put themselves in danger and in difficult, even impossible positions, yet they do not stop fighting for what is right. On that football field, in that silence, they showed the world what it means to assert dignity, choice and humanity, even under threat, even in the shadow of war.