Sedighi, Arash (2018) Rhizomatic Responses : The Organisation of Women's Football in the Islamic Republic of Iran. PhD thesis. SOAS University of London. http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/30257 Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non‐commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. Rhizomatic Responses: The Organisation of Women’s Football in the Islamic Republic of Iran ARASH SEDIGHI Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD 2017 Department of Politics and International Studies SOAS, University of London 1 Acknowledgements This thesis would not be possibly had it not been for the incredible support of my family. My wife, Nicola, who has always supported and guided me, the most difficult task was yours. My mother, Golnaz, who helped me with interviews, phoned athletes in Iran and typed up the transcripts, travelled to Iran to secure me more contacts and interviews. And my father, who travelled with me during the dry days of Ramadan, all to help me with my work. I am humbled by your help and support. My Aunt Zohreh, for being a great inspiration. Our conversations in Iran were fundamental to my thesis – thank you for introducing me to Deleuze and Guattari, and for all the interviews, contacts and notes. My friends are too many to mention, I am truly blessed. But I must mention some by name: Taymour Harding, Jonathan Saha, Igor Cherstich, Ashraf Al-Hoque, Rahul Rao, and finally William Rook, Amin Al Khatib and Hasan Khoee without whom I’m not sure what I would do. I don’t know how to thank my supervisor, Laleh Khalili. Like a star, you’ve never wavered or blinked, regardless of my shortcomings. Every time I’ve looked towards you for guidance, you have led the way. I am eternally grateful. 3 Abstract This thesis argues that the organisation of women’s football in Iran is a fluid one which moves across institutional barriers. I illustrate that women’s football is not necessarily bound by the formalized bureaucratic structures set out officially but escape these on a daily basis. The argument here presented is that is that these ‘flows’, or ‘lines of flight’, are never permanent but return to enforce the dominant structural and discursive formations they temporarily escape. Based on ethnographic research, peer ethnography and observations in Iran between 2008-2009, this thesis will therefore argue that the organisation of women’s football cannot be located as either within or outside the official bureaucracy. It cannot be described as a space of resistance to or even subversion of official limits created through Iran’s sports institutions. Although extra- bureaucratic connections are made and utilized to sustain and sometimes strengthen the potentiality of women’s sports in different contexts women’s football is well within the norms and practices expected of the institution of football in its bureaucratic practice. This image of the footballer, particularly in an Islamic country, contrasts starkly with the dominant picture of the female athlete as a de facto opponent to patriarchal norms, traditional expectations and above all religious obstacles. 4 Contents: Acknowledgements ........................................................................................ 3 Abstract .......................................................................................................... 4 Glossary of relevant institutions, organisations and acronyms ....................... 7 Glossary of words in Farsi ............................................................................... 7 Introduction .............................................................................................. 8 Thesis Objective .............................................................................................. 8 Brief Historical Context ..................................................................................10 Women in Iran – a literature review ..............................................................13 Liberal feminist discourse and the other ........................................................17 Stuck in the middle: the Islam / Modernity dichotomy..................................28 Lessons from Politics of Piety .........................................................................30 Canaries in the mine ......................................................................................35 “Women, football and Iran, did you just combine your three favourite topics?” ..........................................................................................................41 Methodology .................................................................................................45 The Interlocutors ...........................................................................................48 The rhizomatic ...............................................................................................55 Structure ........................................................................................................58 Chapter 1: The State and the History of Women’s Football in Iran ..............58 Chapter 2: Bureaucratic Institution of Women’s Football ............................60 Chapter 3: Marginalisation, segregation and limitations – spatial dynamics in Women’s Football in Iran ............................................................................61 Chapter 4: Tuning the body – embodiment as a line of flight ......................62 Chapter 5: The return of the lines of flight ..................................................64 Chapter 1: The State and the History of Women’s Football in Iran ......... 65 Introduction ...................................................................................................65 Introduction of football .................................................................................68 Contemporary Football ..................................................................................76 Stratification and de-territorialisation – the history of football .....................86 Conclusion .....................................................................................................93 Chapter 2: Bureaucratic Institution of Women’s Football ....................... 95 Introduction ...................................................................................................95 Bureaucratic Power .......................................................................................99 The Organisation..........................................................................................107 Office of the Director of Women’s Affairs, Iranian Football Federation .......113 Cross-Institutional Alliances .........................................................................121 Trust ............................................................................................................124 Third Party Guarantees and Gatekeeping ....................................................130 Institutional Thickness .................................................................................135 5 Conclusion ...................................................................................................137 Chapter 3: Marginalisation, segregation and limitations – spatial dynamics in Women’s Football in Iran .................................................. 139 Introduction .................................................................................................140 Outdoor versus Indoor football ...................................................................157 Nomadic Space ............................................................................................163 Conclusion ...................................................................................................170 Chapter 4: Tuning the body – embodiment as a line of flight ............... 172 Introduction .................................................................................................173 Tuning the Body ...........................................................................................175 Injuries .........................................................................................................183 Playing Like a Man .......................................................................................187 Muslim Bodies .............................................................................................192 Bodies in Sexist Society ................................................................................195 Conclusion ...................................................................................................204 Chapter 5: The return of the lines of flight ............................................ 206 Introduction .................................................................................................206 The difference between women and men ...................................................207