End to 43-year-old ban: Iranian women gain entry to watch men’s football match. Watch video

The women were seated separately from men to witness the match at a Tehran stadium Thursday. Iran's ban on women attending sports stadiums came into force after the Islamic Revolution.

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Iran's ban on women attending sports stadiums came into force after the Islamic Revolution.

For the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iranian women were allowed to watch a domestic league football match in Tehran, and videos and photographs of women sporting the attire of their favourite teams’ colours and waving flags have surfaced online.

Women in Iran were denied entry to stadiums to watch men’s soccer matches and the lifting of the 43-year-old ban has spread cheers among them.

Thousands of women cheered their local teams at a stadium in the Iranian capital after the government relaxed a long-standing ban that prevented females from watching men’s soccer matches in person. pic.twitter.com/v4Ows7S35P

— South China Morning Post (@SCMPNews) September 1, 2022

According to an Al Jazeera report, women were seated separately from men to witness the match at a Tehran stadium Thursday. Women supervisors clad in head-to-toe gowns were heard directing the fans to put on headscarves as they were allowed entry through a special entrance. The fans were seen holding the placards of the Iranian soccer fan Sahar Khodayari who ended her life in 2019 and heard chanting her nickname the ‘Blue Girl’.

As per CNN report, Iran’s ban on women attending sports stadiums came into force after the Islamic Revolution. The progressive stance taken by Iran comes at a time when the country has qualified for the FIFA Qatar World Cup to be held in November this year.

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After pressure mounted on the government by FIFA, the international governing body of football, and human rights groups thousands of women were allowed to attend the World Cup Qualifier game between Iran and Cambodia three years ago. However, FIFA came under fire to overturn its ban on women’s entry after the death of Iranian football fan Sahar Khodayari.

Khodayari who was charged with “openly committing a sinful act” by “appearing in public without a hijab” had set herself on fire after she was denied entry to watch a soccer match in a Tehran stadium in March 2019, a CNN report said.