Like many other of the newspapers challenging the claims to liberalism of the new regime of President Khatami, it fell victim to the grand political struggle between hardliners and reformers which is being played out in all aspects of life and all over Iran. A sportswoman herself, Mahin's attempts to cover sport have caused her great difficulty; she has suffered derision, abuse and even threats from fundamentalists. Nevertheless, she and others like her see women's participation in sport at all levels as part of a greater drive for representation of women in civil society.