Yes, @munna219777 I had read about the more liberal society, where women could play a significant part, not only in sports, before the Iranian revolution in 1979 in connection with articles about Majid Bishkar. It was said that Majid was unable to resist the "charms" of Calcutta, coming as he was from the claustrophobic environment of fundamentalist Iran, ultimately leading to his downfall.
Don’t applaud Iran for letting some women watch football – it is not enough
Even the faintest praise for the Iranian Football Association as the clock has ticked towards Thursday’s World Cup qualifier with Cambodia, which will welcome around 3,500 women to Tehran’s Azadi Stadium after their 40-year exile, has been pretty galling.
Because, in reality, women are anything but welcome in the somewhat ironically named “freedom” stadium. The decision to creak open the gates is a reluctant one.
After tickets were released on 3 October for a single, women-only block in the 78,000-seat stadium they sold out within minutes. Women photographed and tweeted pictures of their prized purchases and, as a further three blocks were made available, each was filled in turn.
The Iranian FA has restricted the number of women able to attend. Around 3,500 are expected, comprising 4.5% of the capacity. Meanwhile BBC Persian Sport has reported that although only 2,500 tickets have been bought by men, the FA will not give more seats to women clamouring to enter.
As Amnesty International said this week, the restrictions placed on women attending and lack of commitment beyond this single event illustrate that this game is being used as a “cynical publicity stunt”.
The death of “Blue Girl” Sahar Khodayari a month ago was a horrific but significant step forward in the campaign to open the stadiums of Iran to women. Until that moment, Fifa and the Iranian FA were getting away with dragging their feet, the world governing body having looked the other way for decades as its rules on discrimination and human rights were broken.
Yes, Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, wrote letters to the Iranian FA, most recently in June, which the world governing body said included requests for a clear timeline and assurances that women wanting to attend the qualifiers would be able to do so and Fifa claims those letters were “answered positively”. But in March 2018 Infantino himself had been inside the stadium hosting the Tehran derby between Esteghlal and Persepolis while 35 women were arrested outside.
In her death Khodayari, who set herself on fire outside the courthouse she was being summoned to to face charges in connection with attempting to enter the stadium while disguised as a man, exposed the snail’s pace of change and forced action to be expedited with international observers aghast and watching.
It is a campaign that represents more than the right to watch football: it challenges ingrained attitudes in Iranian society, challenges the exclusion of women from public spaces, exposes the viciousness with which the state and religious institutes and their representatives will clamp down on change and it acts as a beacon to other movements and campaigns emerging in the country. The government and FA are so resistant to making concessions because they do not want to embolden campaigners to fight for further changes or allow them to broaden the conversation.
It is also a movement that highlights the power of football. If Fifa were to convincingly threaten sanctions and demand immediate change instead of seemingly accepting a somewhat incremental and drawn-out process riddled with excuses (women’s toilets are too expensive, separate entrances have to be arranged, doing it one-off international fixture at a time, etc) then it could play a role in fundamentally altering conditions in a country known for its oppressive restrictions on women.
Some will undoubtedly say we should welcome and cheerlead even the smallest steps in the right direction. But with at least 40 women having been arrested in the past two years, according to Human Rights Watch, some of whom have been prosecuted and have criminal records, and with the “bearded ladies” who attempted to enter in disguise still on bail awaiting charges, there should be no let-up in the pressure being applied internationally and internally.
If the Iranian government and FA are unwilling to at least drop charges against those who have fallen foul of the outdated ban that is not law but crept in as the political Islam of Ayatollah Khomeini took control of the 1979 revolution which birthed the Islamic Republic of Iran, then no goodwill should be afforded them.
This one-off match is not the first: some women were allowed to attend the Asian Champions League final last November with Infantino in attendance. But the progress is painstakingly slow. With zero indication that women will be allowed into domestic games any time soon and the next home international match not until 26 March 2020 there is a big gap in the calendar.
There is no reason why the doors cannot be flung open to women on Thursday. The token number being allowed through the segregated turnstiles and walkways into seating that has had high metal fencing welded around it, is just that: tokenistic.
Accommodating this gesture is not enough. A complete lifting of the ban, the removal of charges against women facing prosecution and the removal of criminal records for those who have fought to be allowed to enter should be the bare minimum demands placed on the country’s governing body.
We must appreciate little things. Without small steps, a giant leap is often not possible. For whatever reasons, we are seeing Saudi also slowly slowly opening up and giving their women the rights they deserve. These things must be appreciated. I have many Iranian friends. So, I know a thing or two about Iran as well.
@sam: I too am not against appreciation of small things. I am also aware that the West has a condescending attitude towards Eastern/Middle East countries and often tries to demean its achievements. The issue that I was trying to raise here is that we should not uncritically praise (or for that matter condemn) anything. Appreciation of the positive aspects of Iranian football should not occlude the acceptance of its negative aspects. As I have said, "all is not hunky-dory", meaning that everything might not be right with Iranian football. Of course let's give praise where it is due. I in no way endorse the contents of that report but simply pointed it out to offer a counteractive balance to the celebratory trend associated with this event
Also, your statement "I have many Iranian friends. So, I know a thing or two about Iran as well" does not sound very nice. I know you have the right intentions and of course you might have many Iranian friends but so might other people. You will be the first person to agree that all of these opinions--whether right, wrong, misdirected or naive needs to be take into account to have a holistic view of any subject. Cheers!!
I am quite sure you didn't have any...only the phrase"I know a thing or two" when used idiomatically generally smacks of a certain holier-than-thou, superioristic attitude. However, knowing you I am certain you never had any such attitude...cheers!
Comments
https://www.inflationtool.com/indian-rupee/1964-to-present-value?amount=3
1970 football match in Calicut, India
https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2019/oct/10/iran-women-watching-football-not-enough-world-cup-qualifer-cambodia
Don’t applaud Iran for letting some women watch football – it is not enough
Even the faintest praise for the Iranian Football Association as the clock has ticked towards Thursday’s World Cup qualifier with Cambodia, which will welcome around 3,500 women to Tehran’s Azadi Stadium after their 40-year exile, has been pretty galling.
Because, in reality, women are anything but welcome in the somewhat ironically named “freedom” stadium. The decision to creak open the gates is a reluctant one.
After tickets were released on 3 October for a single, women-only block in the 78,000-seat stadium they sold out within minutes. Women photographed and tweeted pictures of their prized purchases and, as a further three blocks were made available, each was filled in turn.
The Iranian FA has restricted the number of women able to attend. Around 3,500 are expected, comprising 4.5% of the capacity. Meanwhile BBC Persian Sport has reported that although only 2,500 tickets have been bought by men, the FA will not give more seats to women clamouring to enter.
As Amnesty International said this week, the restrictions placed on women attending and lack of commitment beyond this single event illustrate that this game is being used as a “cynical publicity stunt”.
The death of “Blue Girl” Sahar Khodayari a month ago was a horrific but significant step forward in the campaign to open the stadiums of Iran to women. Until that moment, Fifa and the Iranian FA were getting away with dragging their feet, the world governing body having looked the other way for decades as its rules on discrimination and human rights were broken.
Yes, Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, wrote letters to the Iranian FA, most recently in June, which the world governing body said included requests for a clear timeline and assurances that women wanting to attend the qualifiers would be able to do so and Fifa claims those letters were “answered positively”. But in March 2018 Infantino himself had been inside the stadium hosting the Tehran derby between Esteghlal and Persepolis while 35 women were arrested outside.
It is a campaign that represents more than the right to watch football: it challenges ingrained attitudes in Iranian society, challenges the exclusion of women from public spaces, exposes the viciousness with which the state and religious institutes and their representatives will clamp down on change and it acts as a beacon to other movements and campaigns emerging in the country. The government and FA are so resistant to making concessions because they do not want to embolden campaigners to fight for further changes or allow them to broaden the conversation.
It is also a movement that highlights the power of football. If Fifa were to convincingly threaten sanctions and demand immediate change instead of seemingly accepting a somewhat incremental and drawn-out process riddled with excuses (women’s toilets are too expensive, separate entrances have to be arranged, doing it one-off international fixture at a time, etc) then it could play a role in fundamentally altering conditions in a country known for its oppressive restrictions on women.
Some will undoubtedly say we should welcome and cheerlead even the smallest steps in the right direction. But with at least 40 women having been arrested in the past two years, according to Human Rights Watch, some of whom have been prosecuted and have criminal records, and with the “bearded ladies” who attempted to enter in disguise still on bail awaiting charges, there should be no let-up in the pressure being applied internationally and internally.
If the Iranian government and FA are unwilling to at least drop charges against those who have fallen foul of the outdated ban that is not law but crept in as the political Islam of Ayatollah Khomeini took control of the 1979 revolution which birthed the Islamic Republic of Iran, then no goodwill should be afforded them.
There is no reason why the doors cannot be flung open to women on Thursday. The token number being allowed through the segregated turnstiles and walkways into seating that has had high metal fencing welded around it, is just that: tokenistic.
Accommodating this gesture is not enough. A complete lifting of the ban, the removal of charges against women facing prosecution and the removal of criminal records for those who have fought to be allowed to enter should be the bare minimum demands placed on the country’s governing body.
Also, your statement "I have many Iranian friends. So, I know a thing or two about Iran as well" does not sound very nice. I know you have the right intentions and of course you might have many Iranian friends but so might other people. You will be the first person to agree that all of these opinions--whether right, wrong, misdirected or naive needs to be take into account to have a holistic view of any subject. Cheers!!