In Qatar and other countries: What are the restrictions that women have to go to football stadiums in the Middle East?

The recent decision of Iran of not allowing women access to football stadiums again has generated a wave of indignation. And not only that. In addition, they were sprayed with pepper spray for claiming their income even though they had bought their tickets.

The events occurred on Wednesday in the city of Mashhad, where the Iran-Lebanon match was played for the World Cup qualifiers. Qatar 2022.

Although the Iranian authorities have announced that they will investigate the facts and some have even received – as the president of the Iranian Parliament said – what happened once again puts the magnifying glass on the rights of women and why some countries still do not allow them free access to sports competitions.

These are some cases:

1. Iran

Since 1981, the Islamic Republic of Iran has not allowed women to attend stadiums, a fact that changed in 2019 in the Iran-Cambodia match, which was attended by 3,500 women, under pressure from FIFA, which threatened to suspend the country. Islamic of international competitions.

The dire warning from soccer’s governing body came after the death of Sahar Khodayari, a young woman who set herself on fire outside Tehran’s court for fear of being jailed after attending a match.

Enthusiastic Iranian fans cheer on their soccer team in October 2019, during the match that was played in Tehran between Iran and Cambodia, for the qualifiers for the Qatar 2022 World Cup. / AFP / ATTA KENARE (ATTA KENARE/)

Previously, several women had been arrested for disguising themselves as men to circumvent security controls, so they could cheer on their teams from the stands.

As the EFE agency recalls, the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 put an end to attendance at matches and for this reason the presence of women in stadiums was not repeated until this year.

However, late to attend a football game. Thus, some 2,000 fans were able to watch the match between Iran and Iraq for the World Cup qualifiers live.

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2. Saudi Arabia

Until 2012, women could not practice any sport in open places. It was only in 2018 that they were allowed to enter soccer stadiums in special stands called “family sections”, where they could go with their husbands and children.

Thus, in the stadiums of the ultra-conservative kingdom, worship spaces were set up only for women and special bathrooms.

Mother and daughter cheer on the Al-Ahli team in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Since 2018, Saudi women can attend soccer stadiums, but in separate stands from men. AFP / STRINGER (STRINGER/)

In a small parenthesis to show the world their “progress”, the Saudi authorities allowed women to be in the same stands as men during the final of the Spanish Super Cup in January 2020. But as soon as the match ended, segregation returned to the stadiums.

As part of the reforms promoted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – which also allowed women to drive cars – the formation of the first official women’s soccer league was also approved in 2019.

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3.Qatar

Qatar will host the World Cup at the end of the year and everyone is wondering if the rights of women who come to the event from all over the world will be respected.

“In Qatar, we have no restrictions on women’s access to the stadium. They have been attending matches for a long time,” Nasser Al Khater, deputy secretary general of the 2022 World Cup Organizing Committee, said in 2019.

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Certainly, Wahhabism rules in Qatar, one of the most conservative interpretations of Sunni Islam. However, its laws are not as rigorous as those of Saudi Arabia, although male guardianship prevails.

When it comes to sports, Qatari women can attend the stadiums. It was in 1998, when the Qatar Athletics Federation organized for the first time in the country a competition with women’s athletic events, and where the attendance of fans was allowed.

In the United Arab Emirates, women can also enter stadiums.

Source: Elcomercio