On the road to freedom – (Extended)

Women to enter Iranian stadium for first time in 40 years!

After a 40-year wait, women are finally allowed into Iranian stadiums to watch football. On October 10, 2019 , thousands of women went to the Azadi stadium in Tehran to watch Iran's friendly against Cambodia. The 3,500 tickets allotted to women had sold out in under an hour. Fans had even more reason to celebrate as Iran won 14-0.

Women have been banned from stadiums since 1979. During the ban, women have snuck in dressed up as men with wigs and beards. But the risk was high. In September, Sahar Khodayari set herself on fire to avoid a possible prison term after being caught. She died a week later. Following her death, FIFA ordered Iran to allow women into stadiums. The ban on women has been temporarily lifted a few times before, but hopefully this is a permanent step toward equality.