Denied access, Iranian women seek to watch men in action

HONGKONG It has been our dream for decades. We are always excluded from public happiness and excitement. We have protested and fought for it. Basically, it’s women’s first demand. SPOKESPERSON, Open Stadiums campaign

: Campaigners in Iran remain hopeful that local women will be permitted to attend the Asian Champions League final in Tehran on Saturday, bringing an end to almost four decades of exclusion from top club matches in the country.

A crowd of more than 80,000 is expected at the Azadi Stadium as Persepolis, Iran’s best-supported club, seek to overturn a 2-0 first leg deficit against Japan’s Kashima Antlers and claim their first continental crown.

Iranian women and girls have not been allowed to attend any men’s sporting events for much of the 39 years since the Islamic revolution, and have not been granted access to matches involving top clubs since 1981.

A video posted on social media last week showed officials at the Azadi Stadium discussing possible locations for a “family stand”, an initiative that would permit women to access the stadium.

While the video sparked hope among campaigners, there has been no subsequent announcement, however.

“It has been silent for days, the only thing we saw publicly was a short video from the sports ministry inside the Azadi Stadium and they were talking about a female section,” a spokesperson for the Open Stadiums campaign group told Reuters by e-mail on condition of anonymity.

“It has been our dream for decades. We are always excluded from public happiness and excitement. We have protested and fought for it. Basically, it’s women’s first demand.”

Open Stadiums have been campaigning for access to venues for women in Iran and representatives of the organisation met with FIFA general secretary Fatma Samoura earlier this week to hand over a petition signed by more than 200,000 people.

Samoura said FIFA would work with Iran to end the longrunning ban on women attending matches but offered no insight as to when a breakthrough could be expected, the Thomson Reuters Foundation reported on Thursday.

Iranian authorities could not be reached by Reuters for comment during the Iranian weekend on Friday.

HARDLINE PRESSURE Female fans from other countries have previously been permitted to attend games at the Azadi Stadium, including Syrian women for a World Cup qualifier in September last year.

The restrictions on local women were also relaxed for an international friendly against Bolivia last month, only to be reinstated under pressure from hardliners within the government.