Shirzanan is a media and advocacy platform that aims to empower Muslim female athletes. It was founded to promote access to sports for Muslim women and recognize the social, economic, and political benefits of sports participation. The organization uses elite Muslim female athletes as ambassadors and role models to change negative narratives and inspire women globally. In 2015, Shirzanan carried out its first advocacy campaign by organizing a cycling team of international Muslim athletes to ride across Iowa on RAGBRAI, promoting female sports participation as a fundamental right.

1. SHIRZANAN:
A media and advocacy platform
empowering Muslim female athletes
Presentation for Ali Center Athletes and Social Change Forum - April 9, 2016

2. Presenters
Mara Gubuan - Co-Founder of Shirzanan
Kulsoom Abdullah - Olympic Weightlifter
and Team Shirzanan Ambassador
Minky Worden - Director of Global Initiatives for Human Rights Watch
and Shirzanan Board Advisor

3. Background
● Pronounced SHEER’ zah-non
● Persian word for “female heroes”
● First Iranian women’s sports magazine founded by Solmaz Sharif
● Published online from 2007-2009
● Updated and reintroduced in 2014 to include all Muslim female athletes

4. Our mission is to secure access to sports
for all Muslim females
● We use sports to catalyze advancements in Muslim women’s rights;
● We recognize sports benefits as inextricably linked to health, education,
social, economic, political and gender equality;
● We endeavor to change the narrative around Muslim female athletes by
filling a void in sports coverage traditionally restricted by culture and
censorship; and
● We believe in the power of media for social change and improved
representation will change discriminatory practices and beliefs.

5. Team Shirzanan carried out our first advocacy campaign - a #RideForRights on RAGBRAI 2015.

6. Our motivation
● The original Shirzanan publication recorded 6.5 million hits to the website
in two years - serving as a bridge transcending the gender divide, cultures
and borders;
● In 2012, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei included female athletes on their
Olympic teams for the first time;
● In 2012, FIFA lifted the ban on hijab which opened the game of football to
Muslim females;
● Social media is a proven tool for reform and self-expression; and

7. Challenges
Restrictions on the freedoms of expression and media;
Cultural, religious, legal - all predominantly gender-based - barriers to sports
participation limit our subjects; and
Governmental restrictions and censorship limit reporting and, thus, the
production and dissemination of free information - which is the mission of our
parent non-profit organization named Non-Stop Media.

8. Kiran Khan, Hajar Abulfazil, Raha Moharrak, Mona Seraji, Rehab Shawky, and Amani Ammoura.

9. The Team Shirzanan Advocacy Campaign
To promote female sports participation as a fundamental right leading to
gender equality and greater independence on a #RideForRights;
Elite Muslim athletes joined forces with native Iowans for a cross-cultural
sports exchange in July 2015 using the RAGBRAI 7-day, 462-mile bicycle ride
across Iowa as our platform;
We held a Sports, Media and Equality panel discussion prior to RAGBRAI; and
We are mentoring the Team Shirzanan Ambassadors.

10. Muslim “female heroes” bicycle across Iowa
to inspire women around the world
Watch Religion News Service Video:
http://www.religionnews.com/2015/07/24/video-
muslim-female-heroes-bicycle-across-iowa-
inspire-women-around-world/

11. Team Shirzanan athletes as cultural ambassadors
Through news stories, images and advocacy:
● We promote Muslim female athletes as role models;
● We integrate them with the international sports community; and
● We develop cross-cultural understanding.
Media coverage: Chime For Change published 8 stories on team members,
Huffington Post Live, NYT, Des Moines Register, Women’s eNews, Mic.com,
and numerous international outlets.
Team Shirzanan Ambassadors are committed to continuing the cycle of
female empowerment through sports.

12. Team Shirzanan’s Muslim athletes and Iowans engaged in cross-cultural dialogue with other cyclists..

13. The Team Shirzanan International Athlete Ambassadors
● Raha Moharrak - The first Saudi woman to climb Mount Everest and for whom riding a bicycle
was illegal for females until 2013;
● Kiran Khan - A Pakistani Olympic swimmer who disguised herself as a boy for 4 years in order to
train in the public pools;
● Mona Seraji - An Iranian snowboarder and surfer who police detained for riding her bicycle in
Tehran while violating Islamic dress code;
● Hajar Abulfazil - An Afghan soccer player and coach advocating for greater access to sports
facilities (currently one indoor facility is shared by the men’s and women’s national teams;
of the 6 days it is open per week, the women receive 4 hours of access);
● Amani Ammoura - A Jordanian cyclist working to popularize the bicycle for commuting and
recreation; leading a Global Biking Initiative unisex Team Shirzanan on a tour from Vienna to
Berlin in May 2016; and
● Rehab Shawky - An Egyptian cyclist working in rural communities to educate girls and families

14. RAGBRAI is an actonym for The Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa - July 2015.

15. Examples of existing discriminatory practices and laws
1. Iranian ban preventing women from entering stadiums to watch men’s volleyball
and football matches
Challenged by Human Rights Watch digital campaign: #Watch4Women
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ninL7CmqBqg
“Stop Sidelining Women in Iran”
Solmaz Sharif with Minky Worden
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bODu0R4W48s
2. Iranian women’s soccer team captain’s husband restricts travel
http://wapo.st/1iyo4rJ
3. FIBA (International Basketball Federation) ban on headgear

16. The Shirzanan
magazine
Contents included:
British-Bangladeshi kickboxing
champion with chronic fatigue
syndrome;
Muslim American Ibtihaj Muhammad
who will make history in Rio 2016 as
first to compete in hijab;
Jordanian badminton player using
sport to help Syrian refugees heal; and
Afghan women’s cycling team now
nominated for Nobel Prize.

17. Our Upcoming Projects
● Ongoing advocacy and mentorship
● Working group of United Nations Youth for Gender Equality
● Publication of our second Shirzanan magazine - May 2016
● Media training in preparation for Rio Olympic Games - June 2016
● Partnership with Chime For Change on a journalism training workshop for
the Rio Olympic Games - July 2016
● Documentary Film Series

18. Advocating for Muslim Female Athletes
at The New York Times and The United Nations

19. Our Links
● Facebook.com/ShirzananGlobal
● Twitter @ShirzananGlobal
● Instagram: ShirzananGlobal
● Multimedia website in development; visit our project page:
http://non-stopmedia.org/projects-list/shirzanan-project/
Mara Gubuan - Co-Founder, SHIRZANAN
mara.gubuan@non-stopmedia.org
Solmaz Sharif - Co-Founder, SHIRZANAN
solmaz.sharif@non-stopmedia.org

20. Shirzanan Board of Advisors
● Minky Worden, Director of Global Initiatives for Human Rights Watch
● Rimla Akhtar, Chairman of Muslim Women’s Sport Foundation (United Kingdom)
● Gary Belsky, Former Editor-in-Chief of ESPN The Magazine
● Faezeh Hashemi, President of Islamic Women’s Sports Federation (Iran)
● Sarah Murray, US Director of Women Win
● Shannon Galpin, Founder and President of Mountain2Mountain
● Fatima Saleem, GEO TV Sports Reporter and Founder of GO Girl (Pakistan)
● Hayam Essam, Founder of Girl Power (Egypt)

21. Mission statement:
Your company’s
mission goes here