Reflection on the first appearance of Iranian women at Azadi Stadium after the revolution in the Washington Post
The Washington Post reported on the presence of women at Tehran's Azadi Stadium on Wednesday, writing: "For the first time since 1980, Iranian women were allowed to watch a World Cup match with men in a stadium."
For 38 years, women in Iran have been banned from watching men's games, the newspaper reported. But on Tuesday, domestic news agencies reported that women would be allowed to watch a live broadcast of the Iran-Spain match at the Azadi Stadium. But just hours before the stadium doors were due to open, authorities canceled the event.
Tasnim news agency, which is close to the Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported: “Due to infrastructure problems, tonight’s World Cup match between Iran and Spain will not be broadcast from Azadi Stadium.” Tasnim published this news just three hours before the start of the match, with two sentences. Tasnim, citing its “police reporter,” continued: “Given the lack of broadcast of this match, we ask our dear people to refrain from visiting Azadi Stadium.”
The Washington Post reports that many people showed up at Azadi Stadium, and images of male and female spectators staring at police officers blocking the entrance to the stadium were posted on Twitter. Then, about an hour later, the police officers stepped aside and the stadium doors opened to Iranian men, women, and children who had purchased tickets, and people took out their smartphones to capture the historic moment, taking pictures and posting them on Twitter.
The ban on Iranian women entering stadiums has always been a source of protest, but it has become even more so in the run-up to the World Cup. Earlier this year, Iran publicly tightened its ban on women entering stadiums, which had been in place since the clerical regime came to power in 1979. But in March, 35 women tried to enter the Azadi Stadium to watch two domestic matches, a day after the FIFA president, who was at the game, told reporters that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had “promised” that women in Iran would soon be allowed into football stadiums.
According to the Washington Post, Iranian women hope that the rules for watching sports competitions in Iran will eventually change.
Yeganeh Rezaian, the wife of Washington Post writer Jason Rezaian, a 34-year-old Washington-based journalist who watched the 2014 World Cup games in dark Tehran coffee shops, is also optimistic about change, saying hopefully: "If we did it once... we can try and do it again."
Source: Voice of America
