Iran allows women to watch top-league matches in stadiums

The Iranian women — who have been barred from attending football games for a long time — have been allowed to see the matches live from at the stadium, official said on Sunday.

"This year, one of the prominent features of this league... is that we will witness the entry of women into stadiums," Iran's Football Federation chief Mehdi Taj said.

The announcement was made during the live broadcast of the drawing ceremony of Iran’s top-level football season. As many as 16 teams will participate in the tournament, slated to begin this August.

Ever since the 1979 revolution, women in Iran have not been allowed to enter sports stadiums, even though there is no law in the Iranian constitution that prevents them from attending matches.

Clerics, who play a major role in decision-making in Iran, have argued that women must be shielded from the masculine atmosphere and sight of semi-clad male athletes.

However, despite all this, Taj on Sunday confirmed that some stadiums in the cities of Isfahan, Kerman and Ahvaz — but not the capital Tehran — were "ready" to host women.

In August, when Tehran club Esteghlal played another club, Mes Kerman, women were permitted for the first time to attend a football match.

In another instance, around 4000 women were allowed to attend Iran’s World Cup 2022 Qualifier’s match against Cambodia at Tehran Azadi Stadium in 2019.

Iran has faced massive pressure to allow women to attend matches after the death of a football fan Sahar Khodayari, who in 2019 set herself on fire for fear of being jailed as she tried to attend a football disguised as a man.

Khodayari became the symbol of movement and after four long years of the struggle, one might finally start seeing Iranian women enjoying football matches in the stadium.