AP Interview: Iran official says Islamic Republic to partially open stadium doors to women

TEHRAN, Iran – A senior Iranian official says a limited number of women will be allowed to attend Volleyball World League games in Tehran later this month as it lifts a ban on Iranian women attending male sporting events.

The ban came to worldwide attention last year over the detention of a British-Iranian woman trying to attend a men’s match. While Iran’s judiciary has said her case was linked to her work with the opposition, the FIVB, which oversees world volleyball, called for her release.

Vice-President for Women and Family Affairs Shahindokht Molaverdi tells The Associated Press that the government seeks to avoid a showdown with hard-liners with its decision.

Women generally have been banned from games since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, though foreign women can attend matches of their national teams.