AFP - A senior Iranian sports official said
that a presidential order to end a ban on women spectators in stadiums did
not apply to unmarried females.
"The plan to have women in stadiums is merely for families. It does not
consider single women. They are still banned from entering stadiums," said
Mohammad Aliabadi, the head of Iran's Physical Education Organisation.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had announced Monday that Iranian women can
finally go to stadiums to watch sporting events, putting an unexpected end
to a quarter-century ban.
The president argued that despite reservations, "experience has proven that
when women and families are allowed into stadiums, ethics and chastity will
prevail."
But Aliabadi also said the change required a "study of security and social
factors so that women's dignity is preserved" -- signaling women will be
kept out of stadiums for some time to come.
Since the Islamic revolution ushered in segregation of the sexes and a
strict dress code for women, only a tiny number of Iranian women have been
allowed inside stadiums -- despite a national passion for football that is
shared by men and women alike.
Only the very few women able to secure official invitations to VIP sections
of the stands have been able to watch live sporting events. Even female
sports journalists have been given extremely limited access.
Ahmadinejad's order has drawn complaints from some fellow hardliners, with
one MP warning of the dangers for women of seeing football players' "bare
legs" and hearing male spectators shout obscenities at referees.
