Women entering the stadium and authorities' continued opposition; Deputy Judiciary Minister raises two conditions
Conservatives in Iran continue to oppose women's presence in stadiums, and a senior judicial official has announced two conditions for women's presence in stadiums.
The Deputy Head of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran has once again announced the conditions for women to enter stadiums to watch men's matches. Hadi Sadeghi told the Islamic Republic's official news agency, IRNA, on Sunday, January 21, that there is no prohibition on women entering stadiums if two conditions are met, including respecting the dignity of women and athletes being covered.
Previously, the Judiciary Spokesperson had made similar statements last November regarding women entering the stadium, but following the selective entry of a group of women into the Azadi Stadium to watch the Asian Club Cup final, Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi strongly criticized traditional clerics and Shiite authorities on this issue.
However, Hadi Sadeghi on Sunday listed the conditions for women's freedom to enter the stadium and said that to remove obstacles, the government and clubs must manage to prevent offensive slogans from being chanted in stadiums when women are present. He also said that seeing the body of a non-mahram is forbidden in Islam and there is a solution to remove this obstacle.
Following pressure from the FIFA World Football Federation, FIFA, and the efforts of civil society activists in recent months, the Ministry of Sports and the Iranian Football Federation selectively allowed a number of women to enter the stadium during several matches. However, this measure was met with harsh criticism from religious and judicial authorities in the Islamic Republic, and the FIFA Human Rights Commission called it propaganda.
The Islamic Republic has banned women from entering stadiums to watch men's football matches for nearly four decades, even though FIFA prohibits any gender discrimination in its principles.
Protests against the ban on Iranian women's presence in stadiums where men compete, including football, have made headlines many times in recent years and have drawn widespread international reactions.
Human Rights Watch had previously called on Iranian authorities to ensure that women and girls can watch all men's sports competitions in the country.
Last summer, during the World Cup, a group of prominent Iranian women wrote a letter to the International Football Federation (FIFA) urging the federation to ask the Iranian government to end the discriminatory ban on women entering stadiums.
Source: Voice of America
