The Revolutionary Guards have arrested several women on charges of "attempting to enter the stadium"
The Revolutionary Guards' intelligence agency has arrested some women who were trying to allow women into football stadiums in Iran.
According to published reports, these individuals were arrested on Monday of this week by the Revolutionary Guards' intelligence agency. Some unconfirmed reports indicate that the arrests were made "at the request and complaint" of Mehdi Taj, the head of the Iranian Football Federation.
Among the arrested individuals are five of those who appeared in stadiums wearing makeup and a photographer from the newspaper "Deniyaye Eqtesad" - Forough Alaei.
Zahra Khoshnawaz, Hedeya Marousti, and Leyli Maleki are among the other people arrested.
The arrest of these individuals comes after Gianni Infantino, the president of the International Football Federation, had previously written to Mehdi Taj asking him to provide conditions for women to be present in stadiums during the World Cup qualifying rounds.
Iran's first home game will be held on October 10th (October 18th) against Cambodia.
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
