After pressure from international organizations and FIFA, Tehran allows entry for a championship match. It hadn’t happened since 1979
Sahar Khodayari non c’era among the women lined up in front of the Azadi stadium in Tehran but surely many of the Iranians with the entrance ticket in hand thought of her who in 2019 had set herself on fire pending trial for trying to attend a game disguised as a man. Fake wigs and beards can finally be left in the closet, the Iranian government, pressured by FIFA and NGOs, has decided to give in and, last Thursday, 500 fans were able to officially witness, for the first time since the 1979 Islamic revolution, to a match of the national championship, between the home team Estaqlal and rivals Mes-e Kerman.
The stands and entrances, almost needless to underline it, were strictly divided by sex. But the photos of the happy and cheering girls, who take selfies dressed in the colors of their team, have made the rounds of social media in no time at all, bringing a breath of optimism among those who are committed to the defense of rights of women in the Islamic country. Many have sung of them Blue Girl, as Khodayari was called in the name of the team he cheered for. On Twitter many posted under the hashtag #Blue_Girl: You died so that many “blue girls” could enter the stadium.
Although in Iran there is no official ban for women to go to sporting events, access has always been denied. In 2018, dozens of women were arrested after trying to watch a football match. The only exception in over four decades – recalls the BBC – was in the last match for the qualification for the World Cup three years ago, between Iran and Cambodia. Then, the authorities gave in after the protests that followed Khodayari’s death.
Several Iranian websites wrote that the decision to allow women to enter the stadium yesterday came after FIFA sent a letter to the authorities in Tehran asking them to allow women to enter.
August 27, 2022 (change August 27, 2022 | 13:54)
© Time.News