End of the Iranian League; Women Still Prohibited

On the day when the excitement of football in Iran peaked with the last day of the Premier League, women were still barred from entering football stadiums; this occurred simultaneously with the historic appointment of a woman as the Secretary-General of FIFA (the International Football Federation). In another event, women and families of Islamic Republic embassy staff in Paris watched the friendly volleyball match between Iran and France up close in the hall. On Friday, May 24, the excitement of the Iranian Premier League reached its peak. Persepolis hosted 100,000 spectators at Azadi Stadium in hopes of winning the championship, while Esteghlal Ahvaz fought for the title in Khuzestan. However, the prevention of women's attendance remained a given in the stadiums of the capital, Ahvaz, and other cities. Protests against this unjust situation were not only expressed by anonymous women interested in watching football in stadiums; Mahnar Afshar, a cinema actress, tweeted: "I will repeat as much as necessary; while the final week of the Iranian Premier League has reached its peak and excitement, the place of women in stadiums is empty." In the context of the ban on Iranian women, however, permits were issued for the wife and daughter of the Croatian coach of Persepolis to enter Azadi. Although even their entry was not without complications; according to ISport, Branko's wife and daughter had to coordinate with "several agencies" to obtain permission to watch the football match from a special seat. This site described the "flexibility of the law for foreigners" as a type of "football capitulation." The continued strictness and imposition of unfair restrictions on Iranian women even raised the voice of one of the coaches. Siavash Bakhtiari Zadeh, head coach of Esteghlal Ahvaz, stated: "Many are trying to get Branko's wife and daughter to the stadium to celebrate the championship with their team, but we, as a football family, have long been yearning for our mother to come to the stadium and see our game even for two minutes. Now we are doing all this for a foreigner." Notably, this statement was published by a media outlet close to the security apparatus governing the Revolutionary Guards. Even the wife of the Croatian coach of Persepolis implicitly criticized the restrictions against Iranian women, saying: "I wish women were also in Azadi." If Iranian women are barred from stadiums in Iran, the daughters and wives of Islamic Republic embassy employees in various countries freely and comfortably attend matches of Iranian sports teams against foreign rivals. In some cases, this presence becomes public and well-known. The presence of Ramin Mehmanparast, former spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ambassador of the Islamic Republic in Poland, at the World Volleyball Championship in that country with his wife is a well-known example. Especially since at the same time, Iranian women were banned from watching the Iranian national volleyball team's match in the return games (Tehran - 1393). A new example and witness is the friendly volleyball match between the national teams of Iran and France. The families of Iranian embassy employees in Paris attended the match on Friday night (May 24) in formal attire in the city of Lille and the competition hall. They enjoyed such a free opportunity - utilizing the facilities of the Islamic Republic embassy - while only a few hours earlier, Iranian women had no way or means to watch their compatriots' football match in stadiums. In a bitter report, according to "Tafrih", a 15-year-old fan of Persepolis who intended to attend Azadi Stadium to watch her team play against Rah Ahan was identified by law enforcement and prevented from entering the stadium. The question of what difference exists between the wives and daughters of embassy employees and the women and girls inside the country remains unanswered. Perhaps the only difference relates to the competition hall: the music, dance, singing, and the free and comfortable attire of French spectators; a situation that is permissible for the families of Islamic Republic embassy employees to watch. Ironically, these are also censored by the Islamic Republic's state television for Iranian citizens. A bitter irony that flows under the shadow of a system based on the Supreme Leader. The Rouhani government continues to fail in opening stadiums to women. Despite the clerical roots of the president, he has not been able to succeed against the pressures and demands of governmental and traditional authorities; or perhaps he has not wanted to engage in this challenge. Nearly two years ago, Shahindokht Molaverdi, the Vice President for Women's Affairs, announced: "I explained to Mr. Rouhani that this prohibition for women to attend stadiums and watch volleyball matches did not exist before, and it is not befitting for the government of hope and prudence that these prohibitions and limitations be associated with this government and contrary to the plans and goals of the government that seeks to increase social capital and gain public satisfaction among the youth." Last year, it was announced that regulations and guidelines had been drafted and approved for this purpose; however, the implementation of this plan - which does not include football - has been postponed so far. Not only has the ineffective and incompetent Minister of Sports failed, but even Rouhani himself has not been able to untie the unfair and imposed knot on Iranian women despite three years of his government’s term. Opening the doors of stadiums to women would mean increased mobility and social presence of women and the formation of a new wave of solidarity with the government in society. From this perspective, it seems very unlikely that the authoritarian forces will grant such a concession to him and civil society in the last year of Rouhani's presidency; unless the moderate president strives more than he has so far to fulfill the human and legal demands of women to watch sports competitions in stadiums. The demand for women's rights to attend stadiums is not a request exclusive to them. Without the formation of social pressure - both from women and men - stadiums will continue to be one of the main places for the manifestation of gender injustice in Iran. "You see, I finally came to Azadi Stadium; but I wish I had never come." The famous words of Masoumeh Ebrahimpour, the wife of the late Persepolis captain (Hadi Norouzi) at his funeral, is a bitter report and a lament that requires more than temporary solidarity. Taraneh Alidoosti, a cinema actress - who happens to be the daughter of a prominent football player (Hamid Alidoosti) - reacted meaningfully to the protest of Hadi Norouzi's wife; she described the aforementioned words as "horrific" and wrote: "My father was a player and national footballer for a lifetime. In his prime and brilliance, my mother was still not allowed in the stadium. The fact that the wife of an athlete could not be by his side in victory and defeat, but is allowed to touch the grass of the stadium for the first time on the day of losing her loved one, means we have a big problem. Our problem is cultural, where mourning holds a higher place than our rights and our companionship with our men." Although the women's movement in Iran has long occupied an important and effective part of the country's social movements and has manifested itself in various time slices, this does not mean it does not need the solidarity and companionship of men. Increasing social pressure and expanding demands on any issue (including women's entry into stadiums) can significantly increase the likelihood of its success. This (formation of social force and demand), along with a significant change in the majority composition of the parliament and a noticeable increase in the number of female representatives, can enhance Rouhani's motivation and ability to open the doors of stadiums to women.