TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian authorities have partially lifted a ban on women attending men’s sports matches, a senior sports official said Saturday.
Deputy Sports Minister Abdolhamid Ahmadi said Iran’s State Security Council has approved a plan by his ministry to allow women and families to attend some sports events, the official IRNA news agency reported Saturday, adding that the plan would be implemented sometime this year.
Ahmadi, however, cautioned that not all matches or stadiums would allow women, but did not elaborate. Ahmadi said only that the issue would, “depend on the type of sport.”
Women have been banned from attending men’s sports matches since the 1979 revolution that brought hard-line Islamic clerics to power. The idea was to prevent crowds of unrelated men and women from mixing publicly. In the past, exceptions have been granted to allow foreign women living in Iran to attend matches by their visiting national teams.
The announcement comes after FIFA President Sepp Blatter urged Iran last month to end the “intolerable” ban on women watching football in stadiums.
Iran recently lost a bid against the United Arab Emirates to host the 2019 Asian Cup, with some officials saying the ban on female attendance played a factor in the decision.
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I am cautiously optimistic on what could be a very important nuclear deal with Iran, but I’m impressed how much the west got so far. I think one of the side benefits is the openness to the Iranian population … a good dose of sunshine.
Everything I know is that the the Iranian people are well educated and want to embrace many western ideas, and so many love America.
Look at those Iranians who took selfies with their TVs when Pres Obama was talking, and those who danced in the streets of Tehran when the agreement was announced.
If the GOP and Bibi Nut ‘n’ Yahoo don’t screw with this, we might have a significant moment in history.
They need cheer-leaders?
Ripple effects do take place. This change will, itself, affect other things.
Which will, themselves, affect still others.
Iran is not alone among nations offering gender rights liberalization in the Mid-East, as Saudi Arabia continues to find ways to attract droves of women immigrants.
http://dailycurrant.com/2014/07/30/saudi-arabia-seriously-considering-allowing-women-to-use-forks/
Damn, that’s great! The Daily Currant rivals The Onion, in my opinion.
My first ‘encounter’ with The Daily Currant was the Romney/Fried Chicken thing and I fell for it until the end of the first paragraph’s “government-funded” fried chicken:
http://dailycurrant.com/2012/11/16/romney-i-offered-fried-chicken/