On the Occasion of Women Entering the Stadium; A Large Number of Female Officers Will Be Present for “Security Control” at the Stadium

After FIFA pressure led the Football Federation to sell tickets to women for the Iran-Cambodia match, police announce the presence of female officers at Azadi Stadium.

Ticket sales to women for the upcoming Iran-Cambodia match, scheduled for Thursday, October 18th, were met with unprecedented enthusiasm, to the point that according to reports, the tickets allocated for women sold out in just a few minutes.

Hosein Rahimi, the chief of Tehran Police, announced on Sunday, October 14th, the presence of “a large number of female police officers” at the stadium. This police official stated that the reason for the presence of this number of female officers at the stadium is due to “the presence of women” and “security control and security provision at the stadium.”

A security-focused approach to women’s presence at stadiums by Iranian authorities has precedent. Previously, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the prosecutor general of the Islamic Republic of Iran, described women’s presence in stadiums as “calculated moves by enemies.”

The match between Iran and Cambodia national football teams in World Cup qualifiers is scheduled for October 18th starting at 5 PM at Azadi Stadium in Tehran.

For this match, ticket sales were conducted under FIFA pressure, and reports indicate that although initially one seating section was allocated for women at the stadium, ultimately women purchased tickets for four sections. Media outlets report that 4,000 seats were sold to women for this competition. The proportion of women’s seating at Azadi Stadium compared to men is extremely minimal.

The issue of women entering stadiums gained renewed widespread and international attention following the self-immolation and death of Sohrab Khodayari, known as the “Blue Girl,” in Iran, with many calling for a boycott of stadiums and some demanding FIFA take action against Iranian football officials due to the ban on women entering stadiums.​

The U.S. State Department has consistently and strongly condemned the erosion of women’s rights in Iran by the Islamic Republic regime and has called for an end to harassment, persecution, and discrimination against women who are merely demanding their basic and fundamental rights.

Source: Voice of America