Tehran, 35 women held for defying stadium taboo

Appeal to mobilization this week to draw the attention of the FIFA president. Women's protest against the country's rigid morality continues.

Tehran (AsiaNews / Agencies) - 35 women have been detained for challenging the ban that has prevented Iranian women from entering stadiums since 1979. Official sources said that the fans were not arrested, but transferred to an "appropriate place" until their release at the end of the game.

On February 28, women were not at the stadium for Teheran's teams - Esteqlal against Persepolis - but for the guest of honor: Fifa president Gianni Infantino, a spectator alongside Masoud Soltanifar, Minister of Sport. The aim of the female fans was to attract Infantino’s attention, as evidenced by some appeals posted to social media. At the forefront is a women's rights activist, Masih Alinejad, who encouraged women to go to the stadium the day before given the presence of the FIFA president.

The delicacy of the topic was evident during a live television interview, in which the journalist asked the minister when the ban will be removed: the sound was turned off and the interview abruptly interrupted.

In recent months, the protest of Iranian women has found new impetus and the attempts to challenge the taboos imposed by the strict moral code of the Islamic Republic have increased. President Hussein Rouhani has repeatedly supported the need to listen to the voice and criticism of the people.

• Iran
• economy
• football
• supporters
• women
• women's rights
• stadiums