Nine years after their first polo competition, Iranian women are still at it

Published May 18th, 2015 - 06:38 GMT
Women in Tehran this week compete in a polo competition, a decade after the sport was legalized. (Twitter)
Women in Tehran this week compete in a polo competition, a decade after the sport was legalized. (Twitter)

Did you know women can play sports in Iran, even if they can't watch them?

It's still a fairly new development, actually. Tehran is the site of a women's four-team polo competition at the Qasr-e Firoozeh Complex this week, where Iranian ladies show they can handle themselves in a dangerous playing field on an international level.

It's an annual event that's been going on since 2006, a year after the country legalized the sport for Iranian women. As long as they continue to observe the dress code, of course.

Polo, in fact, has Iranian roots. Reports say the queen of Persia had created the game and, along with her ladies-in-waiting, played regularly against the emperor and courtiers thousands of years ago. 

The final round of the competition for the first and third spots is on Thursday.