Running for Freedom
In this article, I discuss the woman’s body and the human’s inherent tendency to run and live free. I wrote from my perspective as an Iranian woman who suffered from patriarchy and now is concerned about demonstrations in Iran for #WomanLifeFreedom.
I had always wondered why men’s and women’s records in sports differed. Where in history have women been keeping house and raising children, causing their physical power to deteriorate? According to research findings, cavemen went hunting with their entire families. Men weren’t the only ones struggling to make ends meet. Together, they ran into the wild to hunt animals for their living. The physical power of women and men was the same in this era. I can say we are all runners at our core. From sedentism, woman’s generation faced many unlucky situations, they were forced to stay at home and raise children. As a result, women’s physics has changed over time.
The physical power of women and their presence in society is taken away from them. There was no choice for cave dwellers! human species depended on mothers feeding their children, and fathers bringing food to them. But it has changed, and women nowadays have the option of raising their children on their own or with the help of the father or caregivers. Also, the number of athlete women is growing. These two words, men athletes and female athletes should not be used separately, we are the same. As for a race like Marathon, I don’t want to say the winner of the women’s division and the winner of the men’s division. There will be a day when gender discrimination will end and women and men will not be divided into different categories.
Women’s rights have been violated throughout history. There was a time when women were not allowed to participate in marathons, they did not have the right to vote, and many other examples. However, in the 21st century, there are still countries where women are considered the second gender. Although Iranian women are educated, they are still unable to choose what to wear or ride a bike. Additionally, they cannot sing or dance in public. Women are not allowed to go to stadiums. Women are even forbidden to use public basketball or football playgrounds, so I can say women in Iran are not allowed to do physical activities in “public”. In some religious families, they are killed by their brothers or fathers because of having romantic affairs! This is all due to the government’s desire to take women’s agency in society. These are ridiculous rules against women in Iran who are so brave, informed, and critical thinkers.
It has been about 50 days since protests in Iran began after #MahsaAmini was killed by the Hijab police in Tehran, for not wearing a proper hijab. Sarin- #SarinaEsmaeilzadeh- was a brave girl who was murdered during this demonstration. She used to post about her daily life on her Youtube channel. In one of her videos, she says “We live in a modern age, it is not years ago that people did not know how other nations lived. We can see people in the US and also in developing countries, people want progress, not regression. like Americans, we want freedom.” SHE WAS ONLY 17 YEARS OLD. There are many murders these days, and this is one example.
Last week (Nov 6, 2022) I had the opportunity to participate in the Istanbul Marathon. I started running about a year ago. It was really exciting for me when I was preparing for it. My mind was always focused on the finish line, but after #MahsaAmini was murdered by Iran’s regime, I found it difficult to run. I really had to force myself to go out. I always told myself to wake up and go for a run, do not allow the brutal regime to cause you to give up. Finally, I ran the 42k marathon in honor of the brave woman in my country, in memory of the cruelty against women during the 43 years following the Iranian revolution of 1979. I ran to show yes! We women can compete with men. Yes, we women can fight patriarchy and regain our physical and intellectual freedom. The time has come.
#WomanLifeFreedom is our slogan these days.
