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Some 3,500 fans will attend this Thursday October 10 at the World Cup-2022 qualifier against Cambodia. A first in Iran for almost forty years.
With our correspondent in Ténéran, Siavosh Ghazi
This is an unprecedented event since the Islamic revolution of 1979. It comes after the tragic death last September of a young Iranian woman, Sahar Khodayari , who set herself on fire after thinking she was doomed to jail for attempting to enter a stadium.
► To read also: The "blue girl", sad symbol of the struggle of the Iranian women for access to the stadiums
The opening also comes after pressure from FIFA that threatened to boycott the Iranian team if women were not allowed to go to the stadiums to attend football games.
For Hediyeh, a 36-year-old Iranian girl, this openness is a positive sign: " I have a very good feeling . I feel that part of society has managed to end its fight to achieve this natural right. But on the other hand, I have a bad feeling because it's like someone has to die to get that right. And also, I have a bad feeling, because there is a fear that tickets reserved for women are completed. "
In recent years, girls have disguised themselves as boys to go to the stadium. Several of them were arrested. The ultra conservatives still oppose the presence of women in football stadiums, but the government of President Hassan Rohani has managed to open a breach by allowing several thousand women to attend games.
► Also read: Women's access to stadiums: Iranian women do not give up