Iranian women have attended a World Cup qualifier in Tehran after being freely allowed to enter a stadium for a men's match for the first time in decades. The tickets for women have reportedly been sold out within minutes.
Women have effectively been banned from stadiums when men are playing since just after the 1979 Islamic revolution. The change followed the death of a fan who had set herself alight after being arrested for trying to attend a match.
Media reports say more than 3,500 women bought tickets to yesterday's World Cup qualifier against Cambodia, where they were granted access to a special women's-only section of the Azadi Stadium. The stadium has a capacity of about 78,000.
According to the BBC, photos from inside the stadium showed female football fans excitedly waiving Iranian flags and cheering on their team
Iran beat Cambodia 14-0 in the historic match attended by women
Iranian women have watched the country's national football team play after authorities allowed them to buy tickets for the first time in decades, celebrating their long-awaited access to the national stadium but also paying tribute to the "Blue Girl" fan who died last month.
Al Jazeera reports that waving flags, blowing vuvuzela plastic horns and displaying the team colors of red, green and white, over 3,000 women watched from a special women-only section in Tehran's Azadi Stadium.
Women have been banned from watching men's games in Iran since shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution with only a few exceptions made for small groups on rare occasions.
But under pressure from world football's governing body FIFA and women's rights campaigners, Iranian authorities earmarked tickets for them to watch Thursday's game.
FIFA had sent a delegation to Tehran to ensure that women were allowed to attend the game following the death last month of Sahar Khodayari, who set herself on fire to protest against her arrest for trying to get into a match.
Dubbed "Blue Girl" online for her favorite team Esteghlal's colors, Khodayari had feared being jailed for six months by the Islamic Revolutionary Court for trying to enter a stadium dressed as a man.
According to Al-Jazeera, video footage of the crowd at Thursday's match, posted on twitter, showed some supporters chanting “Blue Girl, Blue Girl.” Other video showed supporters chanting “FIFA, Thank You.”
"We have an incredible feeling as the first Iranian women entering the stadium," said one fan, interviewed by local television.
Another video interview, distributed on social media, showed a woman fan inside the stadium, on the brink of tears with an Iranian flag over her shoulders and painted on her face.
“It was really a very big wish. Really, thank you for letting us come. I'm shaking. Thank you,” she said, according to Al-Jazeera.
