Iran to give prize to a sportswoman if she gets married
Athlete was promised a house if she wins a medal
To lure a young athlete into marriage, the Iranian authorities are giving Khadijeh Azadpour, the 22 year-old Iranian athlete, who won a gold medal at the 16th Asian games in Guangzhou, China, an apartment if she to get married, Payvand Iran News reported on Thursday.
Azadpour, won the gold medal in Sanshou 60kg Wushu (a Chinese martial art) at the Asian Games on November 17, told the website "Tebyan" that the authorities had not kept their promise.
"Before I left, they promised to give me a house if I won a gold medal. They said, 'After you return, you will get the keys to the apartment at the airport,'" she said.
"But unfortunately it didn't happen and after following up they said that the conditions had changed and only if you get married will the reward be yours."
According to her, the decision is a morale-damaging one, and can also make her lose her motivation to compete in other sporting events.
Azadpour who trained nine months to win the gold medal, said that the Iranian authorities should treat female and male athletes equally.
"In my view there is no difference between my gold medal and the gold medals won by the men, [the authorities] should look at athletes the same way."
Iran's sports organization gave male athletes who were being sent to Guangzhou around $ 9661 (10 million toumans) while female athletes received only $ 869 (900,000 toumans).
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad urged young girls to marry at age of 16 in his latest rejection of the country's once effective family planning program.
In the wake of 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran implemented an internationally praised family planning program in the 1990s that dramatically reduced the growth rate.