A women’s struggle that changed the face of Iranian football

CBC News highlighted the career of Iranian activist Maryam Shojaei, who played a pivotal role in a campaign that partially ended a decades-long ban on women entering soccer stadiums in Iran.

According to the report, Shojaei, the sister of former Iranian national team player Masoud Shojaei, was among millions of women who were denied entry to Azadi Stadium in Tehran for years, as part of unofficial restrictions imposed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Shojaei points out that football was a “lifeline” for her, even though she remained deprived of watching matches on the field, even as she followed the career of her brother, who represented the Iranian national team in the World Cup tournaments.

The report explains that the turning point came in 2015 when Shojaei appeared on the international scene during the Asian Cup in Australia, raising a banner bearing the slogan #NoBanForWomen, which attracted widespread media attention and launched an international human rights campaign.

During five years of activity, the campaign collected about 200,000 signatures, at a time when women inside Iran faced arrests and attempts to prevent them from entering stadiums. In 2019, under pressure from the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), the Iranian authorities partially allowed women to enter the stands.

According to CBC, this change came after threats from FIFA to impose sanctions on the Iranian Federation, in addition to escalating international pressure and incidents that sparked widespread controversy about preventing women from attending matches.

The report also indicates that Shojaei, who published a book documenting her struggle experience, currently resides in Canada, where she says that political tensions and a breakdown in communications within Iran have made it difficult to keep up with her family’s news.

In another context, the report points out that the tension between the United States and Iran was also reflected in football, as Washington did not host the Iranian team during the preparations for the World Cup, with the team staying in Mexico and traveling to the United States only on match days.