Fifa are being urged to ban Iran from the World Cup over women’s rights

Open Stadiums wonders why Iran can compete when women are not allowed to attend football matches there. The call comes weeks after Iranian authorities allowed women to watch an Iranian championship game for the first time since 1979.

But the organization Open Stadiums is skeptical that stadiums will actually remain open to women. “Iranian women do not trust either the authorities of the Islamic Republic or the Iranian Football Association that the Azadi Stadium will remain for them open when SP on December 18, concludes” they wrote at Open Stadiums in an open letter to the FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

Women are prohibited from participating in matches in contrary to the international football rules, they point out, while calling on Fifa to “immediately exclude Iran from the 2022 World Cup in to Qatar”.

Iranian news portals speculate that the authorities allowed women to watch the match in August after Fifa sent a letter to Tehran, in in which she urged them to let more women into the stadiums. Fifa previously confirmed to the BBC that it did “she won’t close her eyes”when it comes to the mentioned topic.

There is no official ban on women participating in sports in Iran events, but it is rare and they are often refused entry at the door. Before August women de facto did not have entry to home league matches, in played by men. However, the women have attended a handful of international matches, including one in March.

Open Stadiumswhich lobbies for equal access to sports in Iran, also claims to be members of the traveling Iranian soccer team in Qatar, banned from commenting on the deadly protests currently rocking the country.

More and more dead in protests

At the protests that erupted after the death of the 22-year-old Mahse Amen, 52 people died and several hundred were injured, the non-governmental human rights organization Amnesty International (AI) announced. Iranian state media reports more than 40 dead. “Amnesty International has the names of 52 women, men and children killed by Iraqi security forces,” the organization announced.

They added that they have a copy of a document that proves that on September 21, the General Staff of the Iranian Army told the commanders of the in advised all provinces to take strict action against the protesters. They are in document as mentioned “opponents of the revolution and troublemakers”.

According to the organization, the document proves that the escalation of violence and the use of real ammunition are systematic and are part of the strategy of the Iranian authorities.

“The international community must take immediate and decisive action to prevent the deaths and injuries of people who will take to the streets in efforts for their freedom, dignity and human rights,” AI pointed out.

Mahsa Amini is visiting on September 13 in Tehrani was arrested by moral police for allegedly wearing a headscarf inappropriately. She died three days later. Activists claim she died from the impact in head, while the police refuse to blame her for her death and deny that she was beaten or ill-treated. The news of her death sparked widespread outrage and protests by thousands of people in Tehran and other cities around the country. The security authorities responded to the protests with force, moreover, they in disabled or made it difficult for the country to access web.

At the largest protests in Iran in for the past three years, according to the activists, the security forces have used, among other things, real and shriveled bullets, and protesters threw stones at members of the security forces, set fire to police vehicles and state buildings.