In a major shift, Iran announced on Saturday that women would be allowed to attend big sporting events, reversing a rule that had barred them from entering stadiums to watch matches attended by men.
The announcement, following criticism from international sports federations and protests by Iranian women and women’s rights activists, appeared to have been timed to coincide with the news of a breakthrough in the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.
Iranian Iranian Deputy Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Abdolhamid Ahmad told the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency that women and their families would be allowed to attend most athletic events, except for those of “masculine” sports, like wrestling or swimming, during which male athletes wear uniforms or suits that cover little of their bodies.
Women will most likely be assigned to special sections in the stadiums, while mixed seating will be available for families.
Ahmad called for a new atmosphere in stadiums, which many Iranians consider too rowdy and “not Islamic enough” for women.
“Stadiums must become family-oriented and the atmosphere there must be softened,” Ahmad said.
He added that there were some sports that women were not interested in, “nor is their attendance possible, because these sports are for men.”
He did not say which sports he meant.
The decision, if put in effect, will be a big victory for Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who has been trying to allow Iranians more personal freedoms and to adjust laws that are seen as outdated as Iran becomes an increasingly urbanized society.
The Iranian National Security Council, which is supervised by the Iranian Ministry of Interior Affairs, confirmed the change two weeks ago, but the official announcement was delayed until Saturday, two days after Iran reached an agreement with the US and five other world powers on the parameters for an accord on Iran’s nuclear program.
Although challenges to entrenched policies and conservative sensibilities often encounter resistance, the news cheered activists working for change.
“I am very happy,” said Najiyeh Allahdad, a 38-year-old activist who has campaigned for women to be allowed in stadiums. “We have done all we could to get our rights back. This should have happened some time ago. It is now clear for me that this government is really trying hard to improve our lives.”
Usually, the Iranian Supreme Cultural Revolution Council, which determines Iran’s major cultural policies, must confirm such a major change. It is unclear whether it has done so in this case.
Iran was one of the few countries that barred women from sporting events, including soccer, an immensely popular sport in the nation. Last year, it also barred them from attending volleyball matches, prompting an angry reaction among women.
Women’s rights activists protested and demanded equal treatment. An Iranian-British activist, Ghoncheh Ghavami, was arrested after trying to attend a men’s volleyball match in June. She was convicted and sentenced to a one-year jail term and a two-year travel ban. However, last week, an appeals court dismissed the charges against Ghavami, who had been released on bail after five months in prison.
“I want to shout inside the stadiums again,” said Monireh Davari, 23, a volleyball fan. “It was our right to be there.”
With the ban lifted, Davari said she hoped that Iran would start hosting international sporting events.
“I want to see the foreign fans, mix with them and be friends with people from all over the world,” she said.
The international soccer and volleyball federations had objected to the ban, threatening a boycott of Iranian teams if it was not lifted. In March, FIFA president Sepp Blatter called the situation “intolerable” and complained that Rouhani had not done enough to change it.
“Nothing has happened,” Blatter wrote in a letter published in the world soccer body’s weekly magazine. “A collective stadium ban still applies to women in Iran, despite the existence of a thriving women’s football organization. This cannot continue. Hence my appeal to the Iranian authorities: Open the nation’s football stadiums to women.”
In March, the United Arab Emirates was chosen over Iran to host the 2019 Asian Cup in the wake of criticism of Iran’s policy.
Davari said it was clear that international pressure had played a role in Iran’s decision to reverse the policy.
“Iran was missing out on so many opportunities,” she said. “This had to change.”
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