Five hundred women were given access into Tehran’s Azadi stadium to watch a league go with between Tehran-based Esteghlal FC and going to team Sanat Uses Kerman FC, from the city of Kerman, the country’s semi-official state news agency Fars said on Thursday night.
Women were separated from men in the stadium and entered by way of a special entrance using a car park, according to the Iranian Football Federation internet site.
Iran’s ban on ladies attending sports stadiums is not written in to law but was set up shortly after the lates 1970s Islamic Revolution.
While Thursday night was the first time in over 40 years Iranian female soccer enthusiasts were allowed to watch a game between local teams, women have been able to attend a small number of the national team’s matches.
This season, Iranian women had been allowed to share the landmark moment because Iran secured qualification designed for November’s World Cup in Qatar.
Three years before that will, thousands of women were permitted to attend a World Cup Qualifier video game between Iran plus Cambodia in 2019, following pressure through human rights groups and the sport’s entire world governing body, FIFA.
That year, FIFA had come under increasing pressure to force Iran to overturn its prohibit on women entering sports stadiums, especially following the death of Sahar Khodayari , a female fan who set herself on fire after she was refused access to a soccer stadium in Tehran.
Called the “Blue Girl” on social media after the colors of her favorite Iranian soccer team, Esteghlal, Khodayari was charged along with “openly committing the sinful act” simply by “appearing in public without a hijab” when the girl attempted to enter a stadium “dressed like a man” in Mar 2019, according to human rights group Amnesty International.
Women on Thursday night were heard chanting “Blue Girl” — a tribute in order to Khodayari years after her death.