(AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
By Isabel Debre - November 21, 2022
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — To 27-year-old Mariam, the World Cup match ticket was a precious gift. A sports fanatic, she traveled to the World Cup in Qatar from Tehran to catch Iran’s opening game Monday against England, her first live soccer match.
Women are banned from attending men’s matches in Iran.
“I’ve never attended a football match in my life so I had to take this chance,” said Mariam, a student of international relations who, like other Iranian women at the match, declined to give her last name for fear of government reprisals.
Iran is competing in the World Cup as a major women’s protest movement is roiling the country. Security forces have violently cracked down on demonstrations, killing at least 419 people, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that has been monitoring the protests.
Read More: Times of Israel