The World Briefly
July 12, 2023Opening Gates
Iran
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Iranian women will be allowed to attend the country’s upcoming top soccer league matches, after years of being banned from entering stadiums to watch matches except on rare occasions, Agence France-Presse reported.
Mehdi Taj, head of Iran’s Football Federation, announced this week that women can enter stadiums in next month’s 16-team soccer tournament. He added that the sports venues in a number of cities – except the capital Tehran – were “ready” to host women.
Taj’s comments mark a significant turn for women soccer fans in Iran, where authorities have largely barred female spectators from soccer and other sports stadiums since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Although there is no law banning participation, the country’s clerics – who play a major role in decision-making – said that women must be shielded from the masculine environment and semi-clad male athletes.
Other officials, meanwhile, have blamed the lack of infrastructure in sports facilities.
Still, there have been instances of women being permitted to attend matches.
Last August, women attended a national soccer championship match for the first time. In 2019, around 4,000 women were allowed to attend Iran’s 2022 World Cup qualifier against Cambodia at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium.
Iran has faced pressure to allow women into soccer matches following the 2019 death of soccer fan Sahar Khodayari, who set herself on fire for fear of being jailed after trying to attend a match disguised as a man.
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