Five members of the Iranian women’s soccer team who were accused of being “traitors” on Iranian state television after refusing to sing the country’s national anthem during the Asia Cup have withdrawn their claims for asylum in Australia. The group initially sought humanitarian assistance Down Under over fears of persecution in their home nation.
While the players have not publicly explained their refusal to sing the anthem, the move is widely interpreted as a protest against the Iranian regime. Iran is notoriously vicious toward women and girls, who, the United Nations has said, are treated as “second-class citizens.” They are often “depriv[ed] of their autonomy and human dignity” through rampant domestic violence, “marriages” involving girls as young as 10 years old, and institutional discrimination. But with President Donald Trump’s Operation Epic Fury underway, the oppression of women in Iran may finally be coming to an end.
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