Offside keeps blowing the whistle!

This looks great, Afshin. I hope I get a chance to see it.

Hi Trent, I have not yet seen it myself. But I will as soon as it comes to my area. You probably know that this movie deals with a topic close to my heart. I can’t wait to see it myself.

By the way, you are doing a great job with the Ecuador blog.

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Same to you!

And the battle goes on. If Iranian men are like the rest of us they swear alot more than just in stadiums if that’s one of the culture police’s excuses for keeping women out as in the movie.

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kapcro, This is a big excuse! The only sensible thing I have yet heard form this new president was when he said that peresence of woman in stadiums, in fact, promotes good morals. It’s true that in our culture men do not swear so much in front of women. But once gain it was proven that in Iranian system the elected president has no power what so ever.

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Kia is correct. Somehow Iranian men are far better behaved in presence of women! A cultural thing apparently, but even if this was not the case, it should be the men who are punished for dirty football chants, not women.

What the clerics are arguing here is like saying, because most of mugging victims at nights are women, women CAN NOT leave their homes after sunset!!! Utter nonsense!

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Kia, I totally agree. Without women around men are generally much more pathetic. The humanizing effect of women can never be denied in my opinion. I see the same behavior change in Croatians and Americans when women are around. I just meant to point out how sad an excuse the government was grasping at as the movie used the incident to point out. Women must deal with male behavior everywhere in society to some extent so why not at games and such a cloistered policy weakens women with respect to interaction on an equal basis. When there is no legitimate reason behind a policy an institution such as a government will resort to outlandish illogical claims to try and justify a policy. The battle (for women’s rights) goes on not just in Iran but also in the US, the difference is degree. This film is another step in that direction. A question I have is do women and girls have team play in Iran with regard to soccer or are they denied that too? I hope that isn’t the case.

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Hi Kapcro, good to see you back

Iranian women are almost as fanatical about football as the men are, and they do get to play the beautiful game but …..

http://www.lastkick.com/?p=988

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Here are a couple of other interesting articles:

http://www.lastkick.com/?p=288

http://www.lastkick.com/?p=17

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Kapcro, once again I agree with you. Iranian women are very active in the society. So they have to deal with all the insults thrown at them by authorities on everyday basis (just like men do). So no sense in keeping them out when it comes to sports. Even if football stadiums are unruly, it must be left to women to decide if they want to expose themselves to that kind of atmosphere or not! It’s not for the government to decide for them what is good and what is not. This is the very message that Jafar Panahi ususally try to convey in his movies. The reason his movies are banned in Iran!

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I thank you Afshin for the articles. They give me a proper view of the position of women and soccer in Iran. I was struck by the outfits that the women must wear while they play and thought of early tennis where women had to wear long skirts with layered clothes underneath. The sun in Iran must make playing in those long sleeves and pants exhausting. I also thought of Title IX that was passed in 1972 in the United States to mandate equality in men’s and women’s sports in the US. Today there is still no complete parity according to the NAGWS-The National Association for Girls and Women in Sport. You might go to their site to see their work in the field of sports and equality. There may also be some useful ideas or information you can pass on. I posted earlier about this topic that the human spirit will not be denied and is certainly true about the women that continue to fight for their rights and those of future generations.

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Kia, thank you for your kind words. Women should be allowed to decide for themselves and when women are allowed to voice their opinions and partake in decision-making the world is a better place.

Posted from  United States