The Iranian women’s soccer team will be short one player when it travels to Malaysia to compete in an indoor soccer championship next week. That’s because, according to local reports, the team captain doesn’t have a passport — her husband refused to sign papers to allow his wife to renew it.

Niloufar Ardalan, 30, is married to sports journalist Mahdi Toutounchi, who under Iranian law has the right to keep his wife from leaving the country. His reason for keeping Ardalan at home, according to reports, is that he did not want Ardalan to miss their 7-year-old son’s first day of school on Sept. 23. The Asian Football Confederation Futsal Championship is set to run from Sept. 21-26.

Ardulan expressed dismay over her husband’s decision and called on the country to revise its laws when it comes to allowing women to leave the country.

“These games were very important to me,” she told Nasimonline (via news.com.au). “As a Muslim woman, I wanted to work for my country’s flag to be raised [at the games], rather than traveling for leisure and fun.”

She added: “I wish authorities would create [measures] that would allow female athletes to defend their rights in such situations.”

Ardulan, who has been heralded as Iran’s best female player, is a longtime advocate for women’s rights in Iran, especially when it comes to equal treatment in sports. In 2005, she made headlines for being one of the first women to attend a men’s national team match. She had to petition Iran’s soccer governing body for permission, however.

In pictures: Female boxing club in Afghanistan Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Female boxing club in Afghanistan In pictures: Female boxing club in Afghanistan Afghanistan The Afghanistan National Olympic Committee boxing club includes fewer than a dozen women. It was previously supported by nongovernmental organizations however in recent years the club has struggled financially In pictures: Female boxing club in Afghanistan Afghanistan An Afghan female boxer prepares for practice at the Kabul Stadium boxing club In pictures: Female boxing club in Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghan women boxers during their training at the Kabul stadium boxing club In pictures: Female boxing club in Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghan female boxers arrive for practice at the Kabul Stadium boxing club. A few yellow lamps light up the cavernous, sparsely furnished room where Afghanistan's young boxers train, hoping to become good enough to compete in the 2016 Olympics In pictures: Female boxing club in Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghan women boxers warm up for practice at the Kabul stadium boxing club. The women, who are 18 and older, don't have much more than determination, and a trainer who runs them through their paces, watches as they spar, corrects their technique, tells them when to jab, how to protect themselves, when to power through with a left and then a right In pictures: Female boxing club in Afghanistan Afghanistan An Afghan female boxer jumps rope during a practice session at the Kabul Stadium boxing club. The sportswomen share a camaraderie, laughing and teasing each other until the serious business of training begins In pictures: Female boxing club in Afghanistan Afghanistan An Afghan female boxer tries to do pull-ups during a practice session at the Kabul Stadium boxing club In pictures: Female boxing club in Afghanistan Afghanistan On the beginning there were 25 young women in the club who received a salary the equivalent of $100 per month and transportation to and from the Kabul Stadium where they train In pictures: Female boxing club in Afghanistan Afghanistan Aid organizations have dropped out and no longer support the club. Afghanistan's National Olympic Committee took over, but it has little money for the women. The budget was slashed and the women lost their salaries They get a place to train, their boxing gloves and, occasionally, transportation costs In pictures: Female boxing club in Afghanistan Afghanistan Their trainer pairs them off and in turn they get into the rings to practice in hope for a better future

Unfortunately, not much has changed in Iran in the last 10 years. Despite promises to ease restrictions, women are still banned from attending men’s sporting events in the country. In some cases, the country has even arrested women who tried to do so. The most famous example came last year when Ghoncheh Ghavami went to jail for five months after attempting to attend a men’s volleyball game.

While Ardulan won’t end up in jail — without her passport, she has no choice but to follow the law and remain in the country — women’s rights advocates hope her case will raise awareness to bring change.

“This just shows to what extent this law can impact a woman’s life,” Shadi Sadr, the director of the human rights group Justice for Iran, told Radio Free Europe earlier this week. “Even if a woman reaches the highest ranks in politics, sports, or culture, she still needs her husband’s consent for one of her most basic rights — traveling abroad.”

Sadr continued: “[Ardulan] broke the silence, and this could lead to other women taking the courage to detail and shed light on other similar cases.”