Women to Attend Football Matches in Iran

Success! Iran's president has issued a decree that allows women in Iran to attend football (soccer) matches.

AP (LA Times): Iran to Let Women Go to Soccer Games

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iranian women will be allowed to attend soccer matches for first time since the country's 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran's president said in a decree posted on his Web site Monday.

Women would sit in separate section of the stands, away from the usually raucous male fans.

"The presence of families and women will improve soccer-watching manners, and promote a healthy atmosphere," Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said. "They will be allocated some of the best stands in stadiums," he added.

Iran's Islamic law imposes tight restrictions on women. They need a male guardian's permission to work or travel, and have rarely been allowed to attend public sporting events. In 2001, a group of Irish women was permitted to attend a World Cup qualifier match between Iran and Ireland that was held in Tehran.

The petition to allow women to attend football matches in Iran has 6,004 signatures as of today.

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