Global reflection of protests against the ban on Iranian women entering stadiums and FIFA's permission for protests
As Iranian spectators attending the World Cup protested the ban on women entering stadiums in Iran, FIFA announced that it had issued a permit for these protests.
The movement of some spectators of the Iran-Morocco match to protest the ban on women entering sports venues in Iran was reflected in foreign media, including the Washington Post.
In its Sunday, June 17th issue, the newspaper wrote in a report titled "Let Us Be Free," that Iranian women took their protest against the ban on their presence in stadiums, which has been imposed by the Islamic Republic for 37 years, to the St. Petersburg Sports Stadium in Russia, which hosts the world's biggest sporting events, including the Iranian national football team's competitions in the World Cup.
The Washington Post quoted a protester named Sarah from the group called "Free Stadiums" as saying that the Iranian government does not want to see happy women in stadiums.
The Washington Post also quoted the statements of an Iranian human rights activist named Maryam, who, referring to the lifting of the ban on women attending stadiums in Saudi Arabia, described the existence of such a ban as offensive to Iranian women.
On the other hand, following reactions to this type of protest in the stadium where the Iran-Morocco match was held as part of the World Cup, FIFA, the World Football Federation, announced that it had issued a permit for this protest action.
During that match, placards reading #NoBan4Women and "Support Iranian women entering stadiums" were placed on both sides of the stadium.
The Associated Press reported that FIFA said there was no ban on the writings because they were not political and aimed to "express a social demand."
The Islamic Republic government prevents women from entering stadiums where men's competitions are held. Some efforts to remove this restriction have been met with strong opposition from traditional clerics and religious authorities and have not been successful.
Source: Voice of America
