Iranian women have attended their first top-level league game in almost 40 years, a step hailed as a major victory by reformist newspapers in the country.
In March, 35 women were detained for trying to attend a match between Iran’s most popular team Persepolis and fellow Tehran outfit Esteqlal.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Last month around 100 women were allowed to watch a friendly between Iran and Bolivia, “but restrictions were quickly reinstated”, reports the BBC.
That finally changed on Saturday, when nearly 500 women were allowed to attend the Asia Champions League final in Tehran, Iran's semi-official Isna news agency reports.
Most were said to be relatives of players or members of women’s teams, “but the move is being seen as a possible permanent end to the exclusion of women from top matches”, says The Independent.
Local newspapers hailed the move as a “victory” while football’s world governing body, Fifa, which has been working with Iran to end the ban, called it an “historic and festive day” for the sport.
Channel News Asia reports that reformist Etemad newspaper led with a front page which read: “Women were the winners of Azadi ('Freedom') match”.
A picture on the front page of another reformist daily, Sazandegi, showed women cheering at the stadium with a headline reading: “Iranian women's victory in Asian finals”.
Haft-e Sobh newspaper, which has no marked political affiliation, carried a banner headline on its front page that read: “A thousand real women.”
Last week Reuters reported that a petition from Open Stadiums, a group which campaigns for access to sporting venues for Iranian women, was handed to Fifa signed by more than 200,000 people.
Speaking before Saturday's game, a spokesperson for the group said overturning women's exclusion “has been our dream for decades”.
“We are always excluded from public happiness and excitement,” the spokesperson told Reuters by e-mail on condition of anonymity.
-
Heavenly spectacle in the wilds of CanadaThe Week Recommends ‘Mind-bending’ outpost for spotting animals – and the northern lights
-
Facial recognition: a revolution in policingTalking Point All 43 police forces in England and Wales are set to be granted access, with those against calling for increasing safeguards on the technology
-
Sudoku hard: December 14, 2025The daily hard sudoku puzzle from The Week
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
-
Why these Iraqi elections are so importantThe Explainer The US and Israel are increasingly pressuring Baghdad to tackle Iran-backed militants, while weakened Iran sees Iraq as a vital remaining ally
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
