Summary While there is no official ban on women going to sporting events, it is a rare for women to attend as they are often refused an entry. Photo: BBC
(Web Desk) – Female football fans in Iran donned fake beards and wigs to attend a match in a stadium in Tehran, an attempt which is being seen throughout the world as brave and daring.
Photos and video taken during the match of these women were widely shared on both Persian and English social media, where they were seen disguised as men wearing red shirts in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium, reported by BBC.
Activists around the world hailed the women as ‘fearless’.
Iran is one of the countries where women are barred from attending male soccer matches and other sports fixtures. While there is no official ban on women going to sporting events, it is a rare for women to attend as they are often refused an entry.
But the BBC reported that women in Iran have been punished for attending games in the past.
In 2014, an Iranian activist Ghoncheh Ghavami was detained after attempting to watch a men’s volley ball match in Iran. Similarly, in March 2018, 35 women were arrested for trying to attend a football match in Tehran.
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Women were praised on the social media for their brave attempt to watch a football match in Tehran. Photo: BBC
One of the women in the viral photos, seen disguised as a man, claims this wasn’t her first time in fact her third. In an interview to an Iranian newspaper, she explained that she used different disguise and make-up in all her previous attempts.
"I Google for different make-up [tutorials] and learn new ways and apply them to go to the stadium," she said.
The woman added that she had been stopped by the security only once.
The newspaper asked her if she was ever scared of being detained.
“Why should I be scared? We women do not commit any crimes by going to stadiums. The law has not defined women s presence at stadiums as a crime. They have, of course, detained a few women and they have given a written promise not to go back there again,” she replied.
The women were largely praised on social media after they were shared the pictures from their personal social media accounts.
Sports newspaper Khabar Varzeshi asked another woman in the group how she managed to avoid the security guards?
She said: “We went through the first and second gates in a group, and no one figured it out. But once we sat in the stands, everyone realised.”
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With a little help from online make-up tutorials women found a way inside the stadiums to watch football matches in Iran. Photo: BBC
“They came over and took selfies with us, praising us for going. Another interesting thing is all of those who knew we were women did not shout anything rude throughout the match.”
She added a few men had accompanied the group to make sure they were fine.
When asked if it had been worth the risk, she replied: “Of course, why not?”
“Our goal is to keep going until they allow all women to go.”
“We are doing this to say to the authorities that if they don t let us in, we will keep going nonetheless, with or without beards.”
For more on this, watch a report by Dunya News below.
