Final Confirmation of Women's Attendance in Iran's Volleyball Halls

Shahindokht Molaverdi, the Vice President of Iran for Women and Family Affairs, has stated that the presence of women in volleyball halls has received "final confirmation" but has not yet reached "final approval." In an interview published on Monday, April 17, by the Islamic Republic News Agency, she mentioned that this decision was made in a joint committee with representatives from the Ministry of Sports, the Vice Presidency for Women’s Affairs, and the Ministry of Interior. On Saturday, April 15, conflicting news regarding women's attendance in sports halls was reported in Iranian media. Initially, Abdolhamid Ahmadi, the Deputy Minister of Sports and Youth, announced that the National Security Council had approved the ministry's proposal, allowing women to attend sports halls to watch competitions in "some sports" this year. However, hours later, Babak Dinparast, the head of the Ministry of Interior's Information and International Affairs Center, stated that the National Security Council had not issued any resolution regarding women's presence in sports halls. In response to these reports, Shahindokht Molaverdi provided clarifications to the IRNA news agency, stating that a comprehensive regulation regarding the presence of women and families in sports halls has been drafted in the tripartite joint committee, but it has not yet been finalized. She added that the Deputy Minister of Sports' statements also relate to this issue. The Vice President for Women and Family Affairs noted that according to this regulation, women's presence is not essential in some sports. She further stated that among the approved sports, women's attendance in "volleyball competitions" has finally received "final confirmation" after multiple meetings in the Ministry of Interior, but it has not yet been communicated. Previously, in an interview with the Shargh newspaper published on Sunday, April 16, she mentioned that "a general ruling cannot be issued for all sports; currently, women's entry into sports halls does not include swimming, boxing, and football, but includes volleyball, handball, basketball, tennis, and others." Women's entry into stadiums as spectators of sporting events has faced numerous restrictions since the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attempted to alleviate some of these restrictions during his presidency but was unable to do so due to opposition from many conservatives and influential clerics. This issue has recently led the International Volleyball Federation to deprive Iran of hosting several international competitions. Last December, over two hundred prominent Iranian political and civil activists wrote a letter to Sepp Blatter, the president of the International Football Federation (FIFA), requesting his intervention to end "gender discrimination" in Iranian football. Following that, Mr. Blatter described the ban on women's attendance in Iranian stadiums as "intolerable" and called for an end to this situation.