iran

Tehran based aviation and pilot training company, PAAviation www.paaviation.com has recently opened the world's first Muslim skydiving centre. Called "Shahab Skydiving", the facility plays host to male and female skydiving instructors and students. Up until now, Muslim women have been prevented from skydiving, largely due to Islamic regulations. Only 5 months ago, Pakistan's first female tourism minister Nilofar Bakhtiar, was forced to resign after participating in a tandem skydive with a male instructor.
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As the vast majority of the worlds skydiving instructors are male, Muslim women have had virtually no opportunity to take part in one of the worlds most thrilling and adventurous sports. Muslim women are prohibited from skydiving with male instructors, due to the fact that their bodies would be intimately positioned whilst harnessed together. As a new means of allowing Muslim women to participate, the Iranian aviation company, PAAviation have specifically recruited female skydiving instructors, uniquely allowing Muslim women, for the first time to experience the thrill and exhilaration of tandem skydiving. Needless to say, this breaks the mould of the stereotypical and repressed view of Iranian and Muslim women, held by some in the west.

In addressing the current debate on women's rights in Iran, Zahra Ebrahimi, a leading figure in Iranian women's sports, cites the example of skydiving as "A vital source of empowerment." In a telephone interview, Commercial Director of PAAviation, Dean Ghobadi, stated: "We are very proud to have opened an outlet for female thrill seekers and adventure enthusiasts here in Iran, I am sure most will agree that sports such as skydiving have been a long time in coming for Muslim women."

The company is using a recently purchased British made, Britten-Norman Islander aircraft for their skydiving operations. The "Islander" is widely regarded as one of the safest and most reliable aircraft in use for skydiving, worldwide.

The skydiving club is located at Payam Airport, just 60km from Tehran City Centre. The instructors at the club are British and European and all hold full USPA and BPA international skydiving certifications.