A female football fan has set herself on fire while protesting against the stadium ban.
A 29-year-old football fan died after setting herself on fire while protesting against the stadium ban.
Sahar, who tried to sneak into the stadium to watch a game in Azadi Stadium in Tehran, Iran, was detained by the police and later taken to the custody.
Women have been interdicted from watching men’s football in the strict Muslim theocracy and it’s no different with Iran.
She was released from custody only to return to the police station in a bid to get her mobile phone back, but they warned her from further sentencing outside the police station.
Upon hearing it, the woman set herself on fire. The blaze caused burns on 90% of her body, according to the reports.
She was regularly taken care of by the doctors, but they were not able to prevent her death.
According to her sister, Sahar was already suffering from bi-polar disorder and her mental health had deteriorated when she was locked up.
This unfortunate incident has produced a great deal of debate in Iran.
Masoud Shojaei, captain of the men’s national football team, posted a message of support for the woman’s cause to his 400,000 Instagram followers.
“As we are shocked by old limitations set for women, the future generations will be astonished to (find out) that women were banned from entering sports arenas in our time,” he wrote.
“The origin of such limitations is the rotten and disgusting thinking of the past, and will be incomprehensible for the next generation.”
Since 1981, Iran has banned women spectators from football and other stadiums, as per Human Right Watch.
The stadium ban has not been written into law or regulation, but it has been performed by this Asian country.
Prior to the Islamic revolution in 1979, women were allowed to watch sporting events. Banning females from watching live soccer matches is against regulations set by the International football federation FIFA.
FIFA has given the Islamic Republic until October to pave way for women to freely enter sports arenas and watch men’s live matches. If they failed to respond, Iran could face removal from all international soccer events.
