The National Security Council of Iran Approves Women's Attendance in Sports Halls

The Deputy Minister of Sports and Youth in Iran announced that the "National Security Council" has approved the ministry's proposal for women's attendance in "sports halls" to watch competitions in "certain sports" and this plan will be implemented this year. According to the state news agency IRNA, Abdolhamid Ahmadi, the Deputy Minister of Sports, stated on Saturday, April 15, that women's presence in sports halls depends on the "suitability of the sports." He explained, "In some sports, neither families are interested in attending nor is it possible for them to attend, as some of these sports are male-dominated." The Deputy Minister did not specify which sports women would not be allowed to watch. He also only mentioned women's presence in "sports halls" and did not refer to the possibility of women attending stadiums for football matches. According to Mr. Ahmadi, the "comprehensive regulations" of the Ministry of Sports for the presence of "families and women" in "sports halls" were approved by the National Security Council at the end of 2014. He stated that this plan includes "a set of cultural, social, and religious considerations." Following a directive from former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2006 to allow women into stadiums, several hardline clerics deemed it religiously forbidden for women to watch sports competitions in stadiums. Nevertheless, demands for women's presence in stadiums have continued to this day. Meanwhile, attempts by several women to watch volleyball matches between Iran and Brazil, as well as Iran and Italy last year made headlines. Among them was Ghoncheh Ghavami, an Iranian-British citizen, who intended to go to Azadi Stadium to watch the World Volleyball Championships on June 30, 2014, but was arrested for protesting against the ban on women's entry into the stadium and was released a few hours later. A few days later, when she attempted to retrieve her personal belongings, she was arrested again. Ms. Ghavami was released on bail on December 2, 2014, and it was later announced that she had been "pardoned." Following these bans on women's attendance in stadiums, last year the International Volleyball Federation withdrew hosting rights for several world competitions from Iran. Sepp Blatter, the President of FIFA, also described the ban on women's attendance in Iranian stadiums as "intolerable" and called for an end to this situation. This statement came after more than 200 prominent political, social, and civil activists from Iran around the world wrote a letter to Mr. Blatter asking him to use his legal powers to end "gender discrimination" in Iranian football. Prior to this, Shahindokht Molaverdi, the Vice President for Women's Affairs, protested on June 17, 2014, against the prohibition of women attending volleyball matches and stated that President Hassan Rouhani had ordered a review of the matter. Two days before Ms. Molaverdi's remarks, Kamaleddin Pir-Mo’een, a representative from Ardabil in the Parliament, had called for Iranian women to enjoy watching volleyball matches like Brazilian women, citing Article 3 of the Constitution. However, on June 13, 2014, despite the presence of Brazilian women in the 12,000-seat Azadi Stadium, Iranian women were prevented from entering the stadium to watch.