Despite two major wins for Iran’s volleyball team and the anticipation over the sensitive upcoming game with the US volleyball team, the ban on women attending stadium events in Iran may result in denying Iran to be host of the games this Friday and Sunday, as warned by the international volleyball federation, FIVB. Iran had earlier said it would ease the restriction on women attending sports events but till now no such official announcement has come forward.
On the other hand, Iran’s Hezbollah – an ultra-conservative extremist vigilante group – has warned that “blood will be spilled” if the ban was lifted! The Ghom theological center, which is considered the beacon for conservatives, issued a harsh statement against women participating at sporting events and a police chief announced that the force would prevent women from entering stadiums.
Iran’s ISNA student news agency wrote that the country’s volleyball association had announced on its website that the sale of tickets to women was not possible because of “filled capacity.” To those who had already purchased tickets, it wrote they could attend but needed to bring their “ID and membership cards two hours prior to the start of the events.”
On Tuesday, semi-state Fars news agency had quoted Reza Hassanikho, a director general of the ministry of sports to have said, “Women attendance at sports events was under review at the management level and no decision has yet been made.”
He is reported to have further said, “Since the success of Iran’s volleyball team at the international level and the requirement of the international volleyball federation that women must have the right to participate at sporting events, the issue has taken a different meaning, thus requires attention. The ministry of sports, with the participation of other agencies, views it necessary to consider the issue, while observing the Sharia principles so that conditions will be created that will remove the concerns of the religious people of the country and the senior clerics.”
This government official revealed a plan under which women could attend some sporting events and listed the exceptions to be in swimming, boxing, wrestling, weight lifting and football. He also said that a decision had been made to allow family members and a restricted number of team supporters (i.e. women) to attend sporting events held in closed stadiums.
Prior to this some Iranian news sites had posted letters to ayatollah Khamenei written by religious students who had spoken against a “bloody” response to women’s attendance of public sporting events.
At the same time, General Hossein Ashtari, the chief of police, told Fars news agency, “the ban on women’s attendance of concerts and sports stadiums was a religious and inherent duty” of the force.
Some senior clerics in Ghom too had spoken against women’s attendance of sporting events at stadiums. Ayatollah Safi Golpaygani and ayatollah Makarem Shirazi are examples of this.
It remains to be seen whether officials will allow women to attend the upcoming volleyball games, which include Iranian women’s volleyball teams, at the 12,000 seat Azadi stadium this Friday and Sunday.
Rooz online