Fifth Anniversary of Sahar Khodayari's Death; 'Blue Girl' as a Code Name for 'Freedom'

On September 9, 2019, the news of the tragic death of Sahar Khodayari, known as 'Blue Girl', was shocking not only for Iranians but also for the global football community. This report commemorates the fifth anniversary of her death by discussing her arrest and months of suffering, the reasons behind her decision to commit suicide, and ultimately Sahar Khodayari's role in advocating for the 40-year struggle of Iranian women to enter stadiums to watch men's football. For five years, Sahar has not been able to watch her beloved Esteghlal team play at the Azadi Stadium without 'disguising' herself in men's clothing. In these five years, the color blue has become a symbol not only of her favorite club but also of her identity as the 'Blue Girl'. On March 12, 2019, the 28-year-old girl secretly traveled from Qom to Tehran to watch a crucial Asian competition of her favorite team, Esteghlal, while disguised as a man, away from her father's disapproval that 'it is not right for a girl to go to the stadium and sit among all those men.' Sahar's attempt to pass through the gates of Azadi Stadium led to her being detained for four nights. During those days, arrest, imprisonment, and humiliation were the price for women wanting to watch football in Iranian stadiums, including the stadium that was named 'Azadi' shortly after the 1979 revolution. Although the 'Blue Girl' took her dream of watching her favorite team from the stands of Azadi to her grave, perhaps if it weren't for her, the doors of stadiums for women to watch men's football would still be closed. Maryam Shajai, a women's rights activist who has long fought for women's right to enter stadiums in Iran, stated that the efforts of women activists in Iran and FIFA had begun long before Sahar's death, but it was Sahar Khodayari's name that resonated clearly and eloquently around the world. On the evening of March 12, 2019, before the football match began, Sahar reached the entrance gate of the 100,000-seat Azadi Stadium in Tehran, where security forces were searching spectators as usual to prevent anyone from bringing prohibited items into the stadium or a woman disguised as a man from entering. Sahar, dressed as a man, told the officer, as her sister Maryam later recounted to the 'Etemad' newspaper in Tehran, 'I am a woman, please do not touch me.' Perhaps when Sahar told the stadium officer, 'I am a woman, do not touch me,' she did not expect that he would extinguish her hope of going to the stadium, but Sahar's dream faded right there. According to Maryam, on the day of her arrest, contrary to the movement of tens of thousands of men, she was dragged toward a vehicle designated for criminals and thieves, and from there to a detention center called Vaziri, which later gained notoriety again after the death of 'Mahsa Amini'. After Sahar's temporary release in September 2019, about six months after her first arrest, she returned to Tehran without informing her family to retrieve her mobile phone and follow up on her case. One of the assistants to the judge handling her case told Sahar that she would receive a prison sentence of six months to a year, which, according to Maryam Khodayari, caused Sahar to become extremely angry and engage in a verbal altercation with that person, ultimately threatening to self-immolate. Maryam Khodayari stated that Sahar had previously told their mother that if she were imprisoned again and their father found out, she would end her life. In any case, what should not have happened did happen, and suicide marked the end of the life of the Blue Girl; those few days of detention took their toll and had a profound effect on the life of a 29-year-old woman who only wanted to watch football up close. Now, five years have passed since September 9, 2019, and the Blue Girl rests in her ancestral village in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari. After the incident became public, Esteghlal Club issued a statement honoring Sahar's memory, but on September 15, 2019, during the first match of Esteghlal after Sahar's death held in the city of Masjed Soleiman, a historic and memorable event was recorded in the memory of football fans. Voria Ghafouri, the captain of Esteghlal, entered the field ahead of his teammates wearing a black sports shirt with the name of the Blue Girl and a large heart printed on it, followed by the other players wearing the same shirt onto the green rectangle. This act brought consequences and security pressures for the protesting captain, and conditions for him were never normal again. After that, Voria Ghafouri commented on Sahar's death, saying, 'What we heard was a shocking tragedy, and this injustice will never be forgotten; that a woman cannot enter a stadium, is arrested, and then such a tragedy occurs.' On September 9, 2019, the news of Sahar Khodayari's death, previously known as the 'Blue Girl', at the Motahhari Burn Hospital in Tehran quickly spread. This bitter news sparked a global wave of protests in support of her and the right of Iranian women to enter stadiums to watch football. Major European clubs issued condolences for Sahar or designated a symbolic place for her in their stadiums. Some civil activists and prominent political figures outside Iran also spoke and wrote in defense of Iranian women's rights and in memory of the Blue Girl on social media. Ultimately, the case of Sahar Khodayari's arrest and death was closed as her family announced, and a few individuals were punished for mistreatment during her detention, according to Sahar's father, but it was this tragic death of Sahar Khodayari that intensified efforts for women's presence in Iranian stadiums, putting pressure on officials and authorities of the Islamic Republic from FIFA.