Iran on Thursday allowed women football fans to enter a stadium for a national team match, during the friendly duel against Russia, a first for more than a year. The match against Russia is watched by hundreds of Iranian women cheering on their national team, known as Team Melli, at Azadi Stadium in the capital Tehran.
In March last year, even though women were allowed to buy tickets for a World Cup qualifier against Lebanon, they were denied entry to Imam Reza Stadium in the city of Mashhad. (northeast), due to what some officials called “mismanagement” at the time. In January 2022, however, women were allowed to attend an international match for the first time in nearly three years, for a World Cup qualifier against Iraq.
The match comes amid protests that began after the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd who died after being arrested by morality police, who accused her of breaking the dress code. strict of the Islamic Republic. Hundreds of people have been killed, including dozens of security forces, and thousands more have been arrested for taking part in the protests, which authorities have described as “riots” fomented by the United States and its allies.
For more than 40 years, the Islamic Republic has generally prohibited female spectators from attending football matches. The clerics, who play a major role in decision-making, argue that women should be protected from the masculine atmosphere and from the sight of men in sportswear, whose bodies are therefore partially visible. The International Football Federation (Fifa) had ordered Iran in September 2019 to allow women’s access to stadiums without restriction, after the death of a fan who set herself on fire for fear of being killed. imprisoned for attempting to attend a match.