Iranian Authorities Attack Women for Trying to Watch Men’s Football Match in Tehran

By Monaya Selim

According to the Independent, Iranian women were attacked by state security forces for trying to watch a home game between the national men’s football team and Syria in the capital Tehran. The match took place at the Azdi stadium on Thursday the 6^thof June, which also happened to be the eve of the Women’s World Cup.

While the Iranian women were being violently prevented from entering the stadium, Syrian women were allowed to attend untouched and watched the match peacefully.

According to the Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance in Iran, two women were arrested and taken into custody. Their current situation is still unknown.

The state-run daily newspaper Etemad was able to interview a couple of the women that were kicked and punched by state security force.

“One of the troops placed his foot on the chest of one of the ladies, took away her cellphone, and tore away her purse,” a terrified woman said in tears. Another woman added “They kicked us, punched us and swore at us, without our doing anything wrong. There were several of us, women, who were waiting on the lawns outside the west gate of the stadium. We were not chanting. We were not talking. We were not even holding the Iranian flag”.

The women were able to buy tickets to the match online after the Iranian Football Federation (IFF) put them up for sale without placing any blocks on women purchasing them, even though women are banned from attending football matches in Iran.

According to Scooper News, the reason for the IFF not blocking access to women buying tickets was as a favor to FIFA since receiving many warnings over the years about banning women from attending live football matches. However, a day after tickets went on sale, the IFF blocked women from making purchases again without warning or explanation.

However, the IFF’s security manager said that there was no change in the policy and Iranian woman were still banned from entering stadiums. Other IFF officials and the company responsible for selling the tickets online later claimed that it was a technical mistake.

WE SAID THIS: Women all around the world have every right to attend their countries’ sports events without fear of violence or intimidation.