Reuters. Thousands of female soccer fans were allowed to watch a men’s domestic league match in Tehran on Wednesday (August 31), as Iran loosened a ban that was introduced shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Women flocked to the Azadi stadium, draped in the red of their team, Persepolis F. C, blowing vuvuzela horns ahead of the game against Sanat-e-Naft Abadan.
One fan, 16-year-old Mayha said she was looking forward to experiencing the excitement of the stadium, adding “I heard from my brother and father that the atmosphere of the stadium is very good.”
Women have been banned from watching men’s games in Iran since the 1979 revolution with only a few exceptions made for small groups on rare occasions.
Under pressure from world soccer’s governing body FIFA and women’s rights campaigners, in October 2019, Iranian authorities allowed about 4,000 women into 100,000-seat Azadi Stadium for an international match against Cambodia, for the first time in decades.
Earlier in August, 500 women had been allowed into the same Tehran stadium for a match, but Wednesday’s match hosted thousands of female fans.
The women cheered and chanted, celebrating as their side went on to win the game 2-0.
