According to state media, women have attended an official domestic league football match in Iran for the first time since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
On Thursday night in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium, an estimated 500 individuals attended the game.
As a result of clerical disfavor, the Shia Muslim regime has practically excluded women from domestic contests in which men participate.
Three years ago, they watched a World Cup qualifying match for men.
Sahar Khodayari, 29, lit herself on fire while awaiting trial for attempting to attend a game disguised as a guy, prompting an outrage that resulted in the authorities’ reversal of their position.
Khodayari gained the nickname “Blue Girl” because of the team she supported and because she became a symbol of the fight for women’s rights in Iran.
Several Iranian publications said that the decision to allow women into the game on Thursday followed a letter made by Fifa to Iranian officials urging them to allow more women into stadiums. Women’s exclusion from games violates international football regulations.
The women that attended the Estaqlal vs. Mes-e Kerman game were seated separately from the men. In honor of Khodayari, many waved flags, wore their team’s colors, and chanted “Blue Girl.”
Likewise, social media users commemorated Khodayari by tweeting with the Persian hashtag #Blue Girl.
One individual tweeted a photo of Esteqlal supporters and commented that “Blue Girl” had sacrificed herself so that “more blue females can enter the stadium.”
While there is no formal ban on women attending sporting events in Iran, it is uncommon for them to do so because they are frequently denied access.
In 2018, dozens of individuals were apprehended for attempting to enter a football match, while others attended games by donning false beards and wigs.
