Iranian Bushwalkers: Breaking Barriers for Women, One Step at a Time

Originally published on the Persian Herald.

Written by Mrinal Asija a graduate of the Change Our Game Women in Sports Media Program.

An immigrant’s life is not without hardships. Adjusting to a new place and culture is coupled with the load of balancing multiple jobs or studies and looking after the family. For women, it is a double whammy in cultures that put the responsibility of domestic work and care primarily on them. This lifestyle does not allow much time for leisure and personal care, adversely impacting mental and physical health.

For over 10 years, Iranian Bushwalkers, a Melbourne-based club, has been organising activities like hiking and cycling trips to get the community to be physically active, explore the nature and make connections. Flora Haghanipour, a board member, is proud of the growing presence of women in the club’s leadership that allows them to use their lived experiences to design programs and activities that will encourage more women to join.

“As an Iranian woman, I know we don't invest time in ourselves,” Flora points out the major barrier to women’s participation in sporting activities. “There is a mindset of being too much dedicated to your family – kids and your husband.”

With an aim to be more inclusive of women, Iranian Bushwalkers expanded their scope and came up with family events, women-only activities and discounted memberships.

“The main reason of the family events is that even if women can’t come on their own, they can still participate in some activities,” Flora explained.

“From a sports perspective, we have cycling and hiking, which can be challenging, over 12 hours long, which not everyone can do. So, we also organise simple gatherings for families with kids where they have a picnic and then go for a short walk that you can do even with a pram.”

Understanding the diversity within Victoria’s Iranian community and the cultural barriers women face, Iranian Bushwalkers launched the women-only yoga sessions delivered by a Farsi-speaking trainer. The exclusive environment made it comfortable for the women to practice yoga and the shared language made it easier for them to fully immerse themselves in the lessons. The sessions even had participation from women in older age groups and they were so popular that the instructor went on to start her own yoga classes.

The ambition to uplift the women of the community through sport has always been part of the club’s foundation, Flora revealed.

“The club founder’s wife, a psychologist, understood how social activity and sport can change lives, shift perspective and break down barriers. We now have several women like me who have a very strong interest in supporting women because we see that many never had the opportunity or confidence from a young age” she said.

Flora has been an Iranian Bushwalkers member since 2016 and has served on the board for the last two years. She was a recipient of the 2024-25 Change Our Game Professional Development Scholarship Program Grant from the Victoria Government and hopes to be an inspiration for other Iranian women to be active and become leaders within the community.

Iranian Bushwalkers welcomes people from all backgrounds to join the club and memberships can be accessed through their website: ib.org.au.

This piece was produced in collaboration with the Victorian Government’s Office for Women in Sport and Recreation.