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Iran Bans Women From Watching Volleyball

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All we can say is that WE ARE SHOCKED AND SADDENED BY THIS NEWS already making world headlines.

Per http://observers.france24.com:

UPDATE (Monday, June 23): Fifty women were arrested for trying to enter a stadium to watch a volleyball match in Tehran on Friday.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:

Though most of the world is fixated on football right now, in Iran, people are more focused on volleyball. The Iranian national team, which has been playing very well, is drawing crowds in Tehran. The public is made up entirely of men, since the religious police forbid Iranian women from entering the stadiums. Some of them, however, have found creative ways to get in.

Iran is ranked twelfth in the world for volleyball, and its team has made huge progress over the last decade. Since May 30, the team has been taking part in qualification matches for the Volleyball World League, which brings together the 28 best-ranked teams in the world.

However, these sporting events are only for male eyes, since the “morality police” — a special police force that seeks to fight “moral corruption” and to combat those who violate Islamic law — have been systematically preventing women from attending volleyball tournaments since 2005. However, this prohibition does not apply to foreign women.

On June 15, Iranian women took advantage of this exception to steak into the Azadi stadium to watch the Iranian team play the world champion, Brazil. Some of them confirmed to the official Iranian press agency that they had managed to enter the stadium by wearing Brazilian jerseys and by asking for help from the Brazilian families that had come to watch the match. According to journalists from the agency, about a dozen women managed to sneak past the morality police.

“I want to be able to walk into a sports stadium proud of my identity as an Iranian woman and a fan of my national team”

Jila Baniyaqoub is an Iranian journalist. She advocates for the rights of Iranian women to attend sporting events.

Despite the ban in place by the morality police, about 70 women tried to enter the Azadi stadium. Among us was a representative of the state secretary for women’s rights, who is part of president Hassan Rohani’s administration [editor’s note: Sara Ghasempour, a parliamentary staff member, who is wearing black in the photo below]. But the police wouldn’t hear us out. They turned us away, saying this was the decision of the provincial security council. This shows clearly that, on this issue, the Supreme Leader and Rohani’s government do not see eye to eye.

It’s not a security problem, as the police apparatus is sufficient. It’s an ideological position. But now we have hope, because the government is on our side.

When we were turned away, women spontaneously organised protests near the stadium. If this goes on, it’s going to become a real security problem for the police. The next match for the Iranian team [editor’s note: against Italy on June 20, in Tehran] will be quite a challenge for the authorities, as many women were very disappointed that they could not enter the stadium to support their team. A good number are planning on trying to enter the stadium next time. If the authorities don’t make a decision soon, they could quickly become overwhelmed.

I am not judging the women who managed to enter by wearing Brazilian jerseys, but I don’t want to have to resort to ruses in order to support my team. I want to be able to walk into a sports stadium proud of my identity as an Iranian woman and a fan of my national team.

Support beyond Iran’s borders

Following Iran’s revolution in 1979, women were forbidden from entering any sports venues. Under president Mohammad Khatami (1997–2005), these policies were loosened and women were able to watch volleyball tournaments. However, under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005-2013), the ban on women was reinstated.

The recent volleyball matches have highlighted the rift between Hassan Rohani’s government and the morality policy, controlled by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. On Monday, the Iranian state secretary for women’s rights clearly spoke out on Facebook against the ban on women in sports stadiums, and called on police to lift it. This appeal went unheeded.

The issue of Iranian women’s presence in sports stadiums has received attention from abroad: the observer for the sports international volleyball federation expressed his disappointment at the absence of women at the match. Furthermore, the Italian volleyball team, which will play against Iran this Friday, posted a YouTube video requesting that the Iranian authorities allow female supporters into Tehran’s stadium.

Per http://www.ibtimes.co.uk:

Iran has banned women and female journalists from attending World League volleyball matches in Tehran, the IRNA news agency has reported.

Women were reportedly turned away from the Azadi Stadium when Iran played Italy on Friday, while female reporters inside the complex were ordered to leave.

“Female journalists are banned from entering the stadium for the next three matches in Tehran,” IRNA reported, without giving details.

National police chief-general Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam said it was “not yet in the public interest” for men and women to attend such events together.

“We cannot allow the presence of women in stadia. The police are applying the law,” he said in comments reported by Fars news agency.

According to the Khabaronline news website, authorities had confronted female journalists holding press credentials issued by Iran’s National Volleyball Federation and ordered them out.

Journalist Fatemeh Jamalpour, of the Shargh daily, said a small group of female fans who were protesting outside had been detained by the authorities. Jamalpour was also taken into custody and held for six hours, she said on her Facebook page.

The IRNA did not provide an explanation for the ban, whch has been decried by the Iranian vice- president Shahindokht Molaverdi.

She was reported by media as saying that Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, who advocates more social freedoms in the Islamic republic, was looking at ways to resolve the issue.

Iranian women have only once been allowed to attend the World League since 2013, when the country started playing in the tournament. Since then, however, female journalists had been allowed to cover the games.

Women are also banned from attending football matches in Iran, as according to officials, this protects them from the lewd behaviour of male fans.

Police have prevented the public screening of 2014 World Cup matches from Brazil, despite Iran’s participation, forcing fans to watch the games indoors.

Here’s another one posted by My Stealthy Freedom:

This is a picture showing a group of women were arrested in front of stadium . more than 50 women.

You can find Fatemeh Jamalpour’s report below about what happened to her:

What took place in front of entrance door of stadium. A report about peaceful rally of women which ended up to violence.

First slap, second slap and finally I were slapped for the third time and I was being beaten by 10 cops while they were dragging me into a van. I closed my eyes, and wished this is a dream, a nightmare, but it was a bitter truth which was taking place in front of entrance door of stadium, before Iran and Italy volleyball game.

It was 4:00 P.M. I got off the text to make a report about peaceful rally of women, just a few days after president Rouhani’s command to Mollaverdi- vice president of women’s sport affair- to provide a situation for women to attend to stadiums.

But the cops were telling this is different. We were being pushed back to the corners of the street. Vans were getting more and more. I show my ID card and let them know I am a journalist. I am here to make a report, I said, but the guy, who claims is from National Security Police says: You have to leave, now.

They come to arrest people, there is a chaos, some women left, I take the first taxi and I hop in, but one of the guards, without a uniform, jumps in front of the taxi and stops the vehicle.

“Get Off the car, you have to show your ID”, he says.

I gave him my ID card, but he puts me in a van, arrests me. “Why? What is my crime”, I said.

“Arrest her, do not resist”, he says, and then I am on the ground, beaten by female cops. My clothes and purse were torn apart.

I was detained for 6 hours.

This was my story. The same thing happened to 16 more girls, detention for their RIGHT. For the right that is taken away from them, and their crime was their demand, their peaceful demand to enter to stadium.

My crime was making report.

Politicians, sirs, can be more proud now

Post by ‎My Stealthy Freedom آزادی یواشکی زنان در ایران‎.

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