Shahrzadnews: The ban on women entering sports stadiums has long been a source of protest from Iranian womens’ rights activists, but in recent weeks government officials have hinted that this social restriction on half the country’s 80 million population could soon be relaxed.
Deputy president for women and family affairs Tahere Taherian told the ISNA news agency: “The authorities should find a way to remove the ban on women in sports stadiums. In my opinion, the advantages would far outweigh the disadvantages.”
Taherian did not specify what these advantages and disadvantages were. She went on to say that the ban should be upheld in swimming pools, where male athletes would be wearing swimming-trunks.
In the 2006 film Offside by renowned Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, Iranian girls dressed as boys in order to defy the ban.
