Masoumeh Ebtekar: Iranian Women Faced Discrimination in Football Matches Against Syria

The Vice President for Women and Family Affairs stated that during the football match between Iran and Syria, Iranian women were subjected to "discrimination" compared to Syrian women. The news website Khabar Online reported on Friday (September 8) that Masoumeh Ebtekar shared this issue on her Telegram channel. She also mentioned that she had discussed this matter with Masoud Soltani Far, the Minister of Sports and Youth. Although she did not refer to the details of this conversation, she stated that "discussions are underway to coordinate with cultural, law enforcement, and executive authorities to resolve this issue." Khabar Online also reported that Ebtekar, during the funeral of Shahla Habibi, the first advisor on women's affairs to the presidency after the revolution, spoke about efforts to allow Iranian women into stadiums. The Vice President for Women and Family Affairs said that the responsible authorities are negotiating to adopt a "logical solution" in this regard. Ebtekar added, "I do not bear the responsibility alone in this matter to express my opinion alone, but we will certainly make our efforts to resolve the issue in a logical and balanced manner." Her remarks come after Mehdi Taj, the head of the Iranian Football Federation, stated after the match that the federation is not structurally or physically prepared to accept women in stadiums. Several women who had previously purchased tickets online for the match were denied entry on the day of the game and were left outside the Azadi Stadium. Taj responded to this prohibition by saying, "We who are present in the stadium are aware of the realities inside the stadium." He added that separate entry gates for women need to be established, which has not happened. The head of the football federation described the online ticket sales to some women as a result of a "mistake" in the ticketing system, stating that due to this error, "11 women had purchased tickets, but upon our notice, their tickets were canceled." Taj also reacted to criticisms regarding the presence of some female supporters of the Syrian national team in the Azadi Stadium, stating that these women were allowed into the stadium "according to international regulations." Following this incident, Shahindokht Molaverdi, the Special Assistant to the President for Citizen Rights, tweeted that the presence of women in stadiums is their right according to the Charter of Citizen Rights. Parvaneh Salahshouri, the head of the Women’s Faction in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, also stated that until women are allowed to attend stadiums in the country, she prefers not to attend any stadium as a member of parliament. Salahshouri described the prohibition of Iranian women from entering the Azadi Stadium during the football match against Syria as "unacceptable and discriminatory" and suggested that women be allowed to attend one of the capital's derby matches on a trial basis to clarify the dimensions of this issue. Iranian women have been striving for years to enter stadiums, especially football stadiums, but government officials continue to deny them access to sports fields.