Women’s Attendance at Volleyball Halls in Iran 'Awaiting Notification'

With 18 days remaining until part of the World Volleyball League games in Tehran, the Iranian Vice President announced that the minutes for women's entry into volleyball halls have been signed by representatives of the police, the Ministry of Interior, and the Ministry of Sports and Youth, and are awaiting notification from the Minister of Sports and Youth. Shahindokht Molaverdi, the Iranian Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, stated in an interview with Shargh newspaper on Tuesday, June 1, that the 'mechanism' for women's presence in volleyball halls has been 'formulated' and the minutes have been signed, but she added that she is unaware of whether this notification will be issued by the government. In response to a question about whether women might not be able to attend the World Volleyball Championship matches as spectators if this notification is not issued, she said, 'I don't think there will be a problem for volleyball; there hasn't been a problem before.' On Tuesday, April 6, the Iranian Vice President for Women and Family Affairs also mentioned that the decision regarding women's presence in volleyball halls has been 'finally approved' in a joint committee with representatives from the Ministry of Sports, the Women’s Affairs Office of the Presidency, and the Ministry of Interior, but has not yet reached 'final approval.' Just two days prior to Ms. Molaverdi's statements, two contradictory news reports regarding women's attendance at sports halls were published in Iranian media. First, Abdolhamid Ahmadi, Deputy Minister of Sports and Youth, announced that the National Security Council had approved the proposed plan of this ministry, and women's attendance at sports halls to watch 'some sports competitions' would be implemented this year. However, hours later, Babak Dinparast, head of the Information and International Affairs Center of the Ministry of Interior, stated that 'the National Security Council has not issued any resolution regarding women's presence in sports halls.' Ms. Molaverdi emphasized in her statements on Tuesday that the decision regarding women's presence in volleyball halls was made in meetings of the 'Ministry of Interior,' not in the 'National Security Council.' She also commented on the incidents that occurred last year involving women and journalists who attempted to watch volleyball matches, stating, 'Last year, all those incidents and confrontations raised questions and were strange.' She added, 'There hasn't been a problem regarding volleyball before. Certainly, if guarantees are not provided, it should be announced that they should not attend to prevent those incidents from happening again.' The attempts of 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 on June 20, 2014, along with several other women, intended to go to Azadi Stadium to watch the World Volleyball matches but was arrested for protesting against the ban on women's entry to 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 November 23, 2014, and it was later announced that she had been 'pardoned.' Following these bans on women's attendance at stadiums, the International Volleyball Federation withdrew the hosting of several world competitions from Iran last year. However, according to reports, Iran is set to host the American volleyball team at Azadi Sports Hall in Tehran on June 18 and 20. The Iranian team will also host the volleyball teams of Russia and Poland in July.