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May 9, 2006
Iran: Islamist Regime Reinstates Women's Ban From Stadiums
On April 27 we discussed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's decision to allow women into soccer stadiums, and how the Islamic clergy disapproved. On May 1 we described how the decision to allow women into football stadiums, from whence they have been banned since 1979, was seen by women's rights campaigners as a "little victory".
That victory has been snatched by defeat, for today, AKI, Associated Press vis the Chicago Tribune and The Scotsman report that the relaxation has gone, and the ban has been reinstated.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is Iran's Supreme Leader, more powerful than the president, has vetoed the decision. This is the first time that he has challenged any ruling since Ahmadinejad came to power in August last year.
Gholam-Hossein Elham, the government spokesman, said yesterday: "The president has decided to revise his decision based on the supreme leader's opinion."
The president's decision to allow women into soccer stadiums was even criticised from within Ahmadinejad's own party, Abadgaran ("Development").
Women are treated shabbily in Iran, and need a male guardian's permission to work or travel. Originally the ban on women visiting stadiums when males were playing sports was rationalised because the men were wearing shorts. More recently, the official reasoning for the ban has been because women might be exposed to hearing bad language or witnessing bad behaviour.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at May 9, 2006 7:30 PM
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