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IPFS News Link • Iran

Iranian women are allowed into a football stadium for the first time since 1981 after ban on...

• https://www.dailymail.co, By JACK NEWMAN

Iranian women flocked to a World Cup qualifier today as they enjoyed being legally allowed to attend a football match at a stadium for the first time in decades - and were treated to a 14-0 victory.

The sight of women in the stands at Azadi Stadium for Iran's game against Cambodia marks a decades-long push for the right to do so, following a 1981 ban that followed the country's Islamic Revolution.

Iran allocated just 4,000 tickets for women in a stadium that seats about 80,000 people, keeping them separated from men and under the protection of female police officers.

Face-painted Iranian women have often cheered on their team abroad for years, despite being banned from doing so at home.

Zahra Pashaei, a 29-year-old nurse who has only known football games from television, said: 'We are so happy that finally we got the chance to go to the stadium. It's an extraordinary feeling.

'At least for me, 22 or 23 years of longing and regret lies behind this.'


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