Speakers
Description
"After the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, women were required to follow a strict Islamic dress code with mandatory hijab. In addition, increased sex-segregation of public life became a norm and national law. Since the Revolution, Iranians moving abroad also intensified and Canada is now the second most important immigration destination. The purpose of this study was to explore the views of Iranian women immigrating to Canada about sports and physical activity in a new, non-sex-segregated environment and without a mandatory dress code. This project was funded by the Sports Information Resource Center (SIRC) Match Grant program and consisted of a Participatory Action Research between researchers from the University of Ottawa in partnership with Canadian Women and Sport (CWS). It draws from a transnational feminist approach that highlights a multidimensional perspective that goes beyond universalizing the experiences of Muslim women as homogenous and marginalized. Thematic analysis was used to analyze 15 semi-structured interviews conducted with fifteen Iranian immigrant women, six of whom still wore the hijab in Canada while the rest did not. Despite some new barriers, most women’s participation in physical activity increased after immigrating to Canada. The results also showed that participants (with and without hijab) believe that the hijab impacts negatively women’s participation in physical activity. Even though they appreciated spending time and doing physical activity with men, women were nonetheless willing and wished to exercise in gender-segregated environments. The findings can be used by policymakers to improve Immigrant Muslim women’s participation in sports and physical activity.
