Iranian girls finally allowed in stadium | The Daily Star
08:48 PM, June 21, 2018 / LAST MODIFIED: 09:07 PM, June 21, 2018

Iranian girls finally allowed in stadium to watch World Cup match

For the first time in 37 years Iranian girls were allowed to enter the stadium and watch a game of football. Since 1980 women have been banned from watching men's sporting events in Iran. The female fans entered the Azadi stadium in Tehran Wednesday to watch their national team play Spain in the 2018 World Cup.

The usually strict ban on women attending sports stadiums was relaxed for a screening of Iran’s World Cup match against Spain, which was taking place in Kazan, Russia. They are hoping that the rules around watching sports in Iran will be changed permanently. The ban was introduced by Iran’s ruling clerics after the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Although there is no official ban on women entering sports venues in the conservative country, the religious establishment has refused to relax restrictions and police usually prevent women attending.

Following the match, the Azadi stadium said "there will be no problem" for women hoping to watch a screening of Iran's upcoming match, against Portugal on Monday.

Selfies taken by women inside the grounds circulated on social media and the Iranian football team tweeted a photo of a young woman in the stands holding the national flag.

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