In mid-September the star of Iran’s popular women’s Futsal (indoor football) team, Niloufar Ardalan, posted on Instagram the news that her team would be going to play a championship in Malaysia without her. She then explained in an interview that her husband had refused to give her authorisation to leave the country, because he wanted her to be present for their seven-year-old son’s first day at school. This caused uproar on Iranian social media, where many men and women criticised her husband, who is a well-known state television presenter.In Iran, marriage contracts stipulate that wives must have their husband’s permission to travel abroad. By default, these contracts also give the man the power to decide where their family will live, whether their wife can continue her studies or go to work, and whether or not their wife can ask for a divorce.However, marriage contracts can be negotiated before they are signed, and husbands can waive these rights.Following this latest scandal, many men have joined an online movement called #ItsMensTurn - meaning, it’s their turn to do something to advance equality between men and women – in which they pledge to give their wives freedom and equality.اThe campaign kicked off a few days ago on the Facebook page “ My Stealthy Freedom ”. This very popular page was originally created for women in Iran to post photos of themselves without their headscarves, and has since grown into a forum to promote women’s rights. Its founder is Masih Alinejad, an Iranian journalist who lives in New York.