TEHRAN: Iranian women were allowed Thursday for the first time in almost three years to attend a football match of their country’s national team in a Tehran stadium.
“I am very happy. This is the first time I have attended a match at Azadi Stadium,” said a 26-year-old civil engineer who gave her name only as Mahya. She carried the national green, white and red flag, and covered her head with a grey scarf.
The Islamic republic has generally barred female spectators from football and other stadiums for around 40 years. Clerics, who play a major role in decision-making, argue women must be shielded from the masculine atmosphere and sight of semi-clad men.
World football’s governing body FIFA ordered Iran in September 2019 to allow women access to stadiums without restriction and in numbers determined by demand for tickets.
A month later women were able to attend a 2022 World Cup qualifying match between Iran and Cambodia in Azadi Stadium.
For the first match since then, 2,000 of the 10,000 tickets were exclusive to women on Thursday for the 2022 World Cup qualifier between Iran and Iraq, ISNA news agency reported.
“I bought the tickets online and got an SMS confirming it,” Mahya said, adding that “if we win, we will go celebrate the victory in the streets.”
She got her wish, witnessing a 1-0 home side win over Iraq.
“There is nothing strange or complicated” about a woman going to the stadium, said Mahya.
“It should have happened earlier,” she said. “I hope that this will continue.”
The female fans entered through a special entrance via a car park, controlled by policewomen wearing black chador robes and red badges on their arms.
“I wished to have my husband beside me but they said men and women are segregated,” said another female spectator, Golnaz Bahari, 24.
“It will be a lot better if families can come together,” said Bahari, carrying her child in one hand and a vuvuzela horn in the other.
Iran’s female fans sat behind the Iraqi goal.
Wearing thick coats against winter’s chill, some had the national colors painted on their cheeks, and many carried Iranian flags or horns in the national colors.
They sat apart from the men but united with them in supporting their side, with shouts of “Iran! Iran!” drowning out the few fans from Iraq. The two countries were at war for years in the 1980s.
The 2019 FIFA directive, under threat of Iran’s suspension, came after a fan named Sahar Khodayari died after setting herself on fire outside a court in fear of being jailed for trying to attend a match.
Dubbed “Blue Girl” because of the colors of the club she supported — Esteghlal FC — she had reportedly been detained in 2018 when she tried to enter a stadium while dressed as a boy.
Her death sparked an outcry, with many calling for Iran to be banned and matches boycotted.
Since Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979, women have borne the brunt of swift changes in the nation’s moral codes.
Women are subject to a strict dress code, and while deemed more liberal than that of many Arab countries, Iranian legislation since the revolution has been criticized as detrimental to women in cases of marriage, divorce and inheritance.
Women may hold high positions, including in parliament and the government, but cannot serve as judges and have not been allowed to run for president.
FIFA had been pushing for years for Iran to open its stadiums to women, but Tehran had until 2019 only allowed a limited number of them to attend matches on rare occasions.
Since October 2019, when women last attended a national match, Covid-19 restrictions put an end to attendance by any fans — until Thursday.
Women attend Iran-Iraq match in Tehran stadium
https://arab.news/r4ajy
Women attend Iran-Iraq match in Tehran stadium
- "I am very happy. This is the first time I have attended a match at Azadi Stadium," said a 26-year-old civil engineer who gave her name only as Mahya
- "I wished to have my husband beside me but they said men and women are segregated," said another female spectator, Golnaz Bahari
Cambodia takes back looted historic artifacts handled by British art dealer
- The objects were returned under a 2020 agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the family of the late Douglas Latchford, a British art collector and dealer who allegedly had the items smuggled out of Cambodia
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Cambodian officials on Friday received more than six dozen historic artifacts described as part of the country’s cultural heritage that had been looted during decades of war and instability.
At a ceremony attended by Deputy Prime Minister Hun Many, the 74 items were unveiled at the National Museum in Phnom Penh after their repatriation from the United Kingdom.
The objects were returned under a 2020 agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the family of the late Douglas Latchford, a British art collector and dealer who allegedly had the items smuggled out of Cambodia.
“This substantial restitution represents one of the most important returns of Khmer cultural heritage in recent years, following major repatriations in 2021 and 2023 from the same collection,” the Culture Ministry said in a statement. “It marks a significant step forward in Cambodia’s continued efforts to recover, preserve, and restore its ancestral legacy for future generations.”
The artifacts were described as dating from the pre-Angkorian period through the height of the Angkor Empire, including “monumental sandstone sculptures, refined bronze works, and significant ritual objects.” The Angkor Empire, which extended from the ninth to the 15th century, is best known for the Angkor Wat archaeological site, the nation’s biggest tourist attraction.
Latchford was a prominent antiquities dealer who allegedly orchestrated an operation to sell looted Cambodian sculptures on the international market.
From 1970 to the 1980s, during Cambodia’s civil wars and the communist Khmer Rouge ‘s brutal reign, organized looting networks sent artifacts to Latchford, who then sold them to Western collectors, dealers, and institutions. These pieces were often physically damaged, having been pried off temple walls or other structures by the looters.
Latchford was indicted in a New York federal court in 2019 on charges including wire fraud and conspiracy. He died in 2020, aged 88, before he could be extradited to face charges.
Cambodia, like neighboring Thailand, has benefited from a trend in recent decades involving the repatriation of art and archaeological treasures. These include ancient Asian artworks as well as pieces lost or stolen during turmoil in places such as Syria, Iraq and Nazi-occupied Europe. New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the prominent institutions that has been returning illegally smuggled art, including to Cambodia.
“The ancient artifacts created and preserved by our ancestors are now being returned to Cambodia, bringing warmth and joy, following the country’s return to peace,” said Hun Many, who is the younger brother of Prime Minister Hun Manet.
