Last day for women to play football in Iran: “The regime did not like it and we were persecuted”

It’s not random. One of the strongest actions of protecting women’s rights was voiced on the football fields. Last year, before the crisis broke out, the Open Stadiums platform was able to: For the first time in 40 years, there was a female spectator at a local league game.. His edition also gave fans access to national team duels. Always with bureaucratic barriers, reduced and selective capacity, in addition to the abusive controls that began with the 1979 revolution.

deportation from Iran

A group that lives in hiding, supports street protests and engages in corporate activism on the road to protest, death and even exile these days. Ahead of the World Cup in Qatar, Open Stadiums sent a statement to FIFA president Gianni Infantino demanding the expulsion of Iran. “Why give a global stage to your representatives who refuse to respect human rights and dignity, torture and kill their own people?”The letter has been read.

Did you get any response? “No!” The organization angrily responded to El Periódico de España from the Prensa Ibérica group. They always do this out of the anonymity in which they work. “In 2005, we developed the first campaign to participate in the World Cup qualifier match between Iran and Germany.. However, the Open Stadiums were officially established in 2013, benefiting from Joseph Blatter’s visit to Iran.”

When asked about the veto rationale, officials stated: “It was not appropriate to go to stadiums as a woman”as if his existence were a “clue”. They then took international action, warning of the ban. There were no social networks and sometimes they resorted to methods such as fax. Theirs was a solitary struggle for which they had little overt support.

referees were censored

“Although we were anonymous and secret, we were targeted by the regime many times. People had to go into exile because of the oppression we saw.” mixed. Recently, Aso CavaheriThe Iranian international referee announced on his social networks that he is retiring “after years of suffering from the hijab obligation”. partner in August 2022 Mahsa Ghorbani He was removed from the university list for not wearing long pants.

to be young, The Open Stadiums activist has been clear that one of her goals is to attend a football game.. Because it was the most revolutionary act in the only country in the world to ban women from entering stadiums. Even Saudi Arabia hasn’t locked down sports venues this way. The 1979 revolution set new rules for the conduct of women, who had developed a significant tribune culture until they were barred from entry in 1981.

Something he documents in this movie side, where a girl dressed as a man was stopped by Jafar Panahi before entering the stadium. Although fictional, Open Stadiums is based on a reality experienced by its members. “One day they discovered me and my other colleagues, but they let us watch the game until the end and released us.. This was 2009 when security in the camps was less aggressive,” he says, recalling the Sahar Khodayari incident.

In September 2019, this young fan asked to go through security checks to see his favorite team, Esteghlal Tehran Football Club, one of the few to position himself against abuse of power in the recent crisis. After disguising himself as a man and entering an asylum, he was arrested and charged with “complaining a blatantly sinful act”.. An argument used in similar situations. Known as the ‘girl in blue’ because of her club colors, Khodayari blew herself up in front of the court that sentenced her to six months in prison.

death of a fan

He died in the hospital where he was taken with 90% of his body burned. The tragedy prompted Amnesty International and Human Rights, which has asked FIFA to lift the ban on women on the pitch. The Iranian federation timidly opened its hand and Allows female public access to World Cup qualifying match between Iran and Cambodia. A year ago, he was granted access to a match against Portugal. “We remember it with nostalgia because it allowed us to make a dream come true. I can’t tell you how happy we are to be able to enter the stadiums,” says the Open Stadiums activist.

The system seemed to have opened some loopholes that Khodayari or the activists were trying to exploit, but all they found was a brutal response. But all eyes are on you in a turbulent 2019 For the first time in decades, a group of women was able to watch an AFC Champions League match in Tehran. (Asian Confederation).

In competitions organized by supranational organizations, Iran was forced to surrender many times. But the doors of the stadiums did not open until August 25, 2022, 40 years after the last one in the national league, held in a normal climate.

In the ‘free’ state

The decision came later Sports and Youth Minister Hamid Sajjadi received a letter from FIFA regarding the admission of women and girls to football matches. He admitted it himself, though he wanted to record that Infantino’s message was a request “not a necessity”. The tone of the letter has been exceeded. For this reason, the federation lifted the ban on Esteghlal and Sanat Mes Kerman’s match at Azadi Stadium, which meant “freedom”.

Where Sahar Khodayari was persecuted and detained. During the start of the match, the most popular cheer was the “blue girl” in reference to the deceased fans and their club. The match that resulted in Estheghal’s victory was half a party. A makeover before the World Cup. They condemned how women were taken from the Open Stadiums to the amphitheater.where the vision is much worse, although a good location pays the price.

The number of tickets sent did not exceed 500, and most of them were delivered to selected women working in state administration. In addition, some participants condemned “aggressive calls, close to harassment”. Days later, on August 31, the same Azadi stadium hosted another match between Persepolis and Sanat Naft Abadan with the participation of fans.

In the report of that meeting, Open Stadiums talk about redundancy of security forces and ‘constant warnings to wear good hijabs’‘. Fans came from all over the country, with or without tickets. Police officers even blocked the visual contact of men and women by blocking the seats. Followers could not enter on foot, and buses were arranged for their transportation.

The actors were much more spontaneous. Former PSV’s Jürgen Locadia celebrated the victory of Persepolis with women’s stands. When they tried to enter a World Cup qualifying match in Qatar against Lebanon months ago, they were able to enjoy the deprivation of women who were attacked with pepper spray and smoke canisters. The duel where they legally bought the tickets. The last-minute change broke protocol and unleashed backlash. “The regime has never liked that Iranian women send a different image of their people abroad. The identity of the government is to restrict all our rights and we have been persecuted.”

By that last day of August, the lights were definitely out for the female audience. Just a few weeks later, the ‘morality police’ killed Mahsa Amini. In these months, attacks and Iranian federation football once again showed its true face. Ensuring that “women go to the field just to see men” by no longer needing excuses such as “technical errors” or embarrassing sexually-based explanations on sales sites, begin to see the presence of women in sports fiefdoms as a “misfortune”.

printing in Qatar

Finally, the Iranian team participated in the World Cup in Qatar, but its existence was tainted from the beginning. A large part of the Iranian public criticized the indifference of the players known as ‘Team Melli’.refused to interpret the anthem in the first gamebut with the exceptions like Sardar Azmoun’s who said the rest.

“Despite the Iranians we saw in the field stands, Qatar was a very dangerous country for ‘normal’ Iranians because the Qatari police were collaborating with regime agents. They would arrest anyone who dared to say anything about the current revolution.. It was an environment of stress and sadness,” they say from the Open Stadiums.

In these circumstances, it’s not surprising that Carlos Queiroz’s men were eliminated in the group stage. failure celebrated in many towns and cities of the country. How else could the suppressed demonstrations be, with state violence leading to more deaths? Because stadiums in Iran are just one of many public forums that have been covered in blood.