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Iranian women allowed to attend domestic football match for first time in over 40 years

Women have officially attended a domestic league football match in Iran for the first time since the 1979 Islamic revolution, state media say.

Five hundred women were granted access into Tehran’s Azadi stadium to watch a league match between Tehran-based Esteghlal FC and visiting team Sanat Mes Kerman FC, from the city of Kerman, the country’s semi-official state news agency Fars said on Thursday.
Women were separated from men in the stadium and entered through a special entrance via a car park, according to the Iranian Football Federation website.
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Women have effectively been barred from domestic matches where men are playing due to clerical disapproval under the Shia Muslim regime.

The last men’s match they watched was a World Cup qualifier three years ago.

At the time, authorities relented following an outcry after the death of 29-year-old Sahar Khodayari, who set herself on fire while awaiting trial for trying to attend a game disguised as a man.

Dubbed the “Blue Girl” on social media after the colors of her favorite Iranian football team, Esteghlal, Khodayari was charged with “openly committing a sinful act” by “appearing in public without a hijab” when she attempted to enter a stadium “dressed as a man” in March 2019, according to human rights group Amnesty International.
Women on Thursday were heard chanting “Blue Girl” — a tribute to Khodayari years after her death.
Several Iranian websites said the decision to allow women into the game on Thursday came after football’s world governing body Fifa sent a letter to Iranian authorities calling on them to permit more women into stadiums. Prohibiting women from games goes against international football statutes.

 

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