Sadaf Khadem ( fa, صدف خادم; born January 23, 1995) is a

female Female (Venus symbol, symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ovum, ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the Sperm, male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gamet ...

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

from

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. She held her first official fight on April 14, 2019, where she defeated Anne Chauvin from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. This fight meant she was the first Iranian woman to be part of an official boxing match. Khadem and her trainer,

Mahyar Monshipour Mahyar Monshipour ( fa, مهیار منشی‌پور; born 21 March 1975 in Tehran, Iran) is an Iranian-born French boxer who was the World Boxing Association's super bantamweight champion for nearly three years between 2003 and 2006. He lost ...

, had been expected to return to

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

after the win, but she canceled her return to Iran after an arrest warrant was issued due to breaching dress rules for women in Iran.

Biography

Khadem began her athletic career at the age of 9. She was particularly interest in basketball. Watching professional basketball players train in boxing to increase their morale, she began training as well. Her training began in Tehran and subsequently she continued in Varamin despite the long commute from her home. Though she was accepted to college to pursue a sports engineering degree, she eventually dropped out to put full time focus on boxing. Alongside her own training, she held fitness and basketball classes as well.

became her boxing trainer in 2008 and in 2014 she accepted an official boxing match invitation from France despite opposition from the Ministry of Sports of Iran.

Defeating French Opponent

On April 14, 2019, Khadem participated in her first official match in

Royan Royan (; in the Saintongeais dialect; oc, Roian) is a commune and town in the south-west of France, in the department of Charente-Maritime in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. Its inhabitants are known as ''Royannais'' and ''Royannaises''. Capi ...

, France. Her opponent Anne Chauvin was a French boxer. Khadem defeated Chauvin at the end of a three-round match with Monshipour as her trainer. After the match, Khadem embraced her opponent with tears in her eyes. She declared that "this victory belongs to all the men and women who sacrificed their lives for Iran." She further added that "this was the first step."

Reception

The prospect of Khadem's match with Chauvin attracted French and other international media attention. The match was broadcast on a dedicated channel as well as several local ones. The match was dubbed by the hosts as "an effort to bring equality among women and men." Following Khadem's victory, the mayor of Royan congratulated Monshipour and Khadem inside the ring. The Iranian Boxing Federation distanced itself from the match and released a statement reading:

As women's boxing is not a sanctioned sport of the Islamic Republic of Iran Boxing Federation, the organization, training, and participation in this sport is not related to this federation and it is the organizer and participant's responsibilities.

Following the match, Khadem and Monshipour had plans to return to Iran, however, lingering rumors of potential arrest warrants kept them in France. Khadem's representative told Reuters that authorities had issued arrest warrants against her and Monshipour. Hossein Soori, the head of Iran's boxing federation, denied Khadem would be arrested, attributing the information to “media linked to Saudi Arabia”.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khadem, Sadaf Living people 1995 births Place of birth missing (living people) Iranian women boxers Iranian refugee and immigrant athletes