From the Scotsman:
Hundreds of thousands of Iranian football fans flouted the Islamic state’s moral codes as they took to the streets after qualifying for the World Cup.
The national side’s 1-0 win over minnows Bahrain booked Iran’s place at the 2006 finals in Germany, and set off a country-wide party.
Some women breached the strictures of Islamic rule by taking off their mandatory headscarves, waving them in the air and dancing with young men.
Once more, football served as a vehicle for reform in the Islamic republic: more than 20 young female fans forced their way into the stadium before the game, defying a 26-year ban on their presence in the stands.
“Freedom is my right, Iran is my country,” they chanted.
One woman, Mahboubeh Abbas-Gholizadeh, missed the game after breaking her leg when guards tried to push the women out by closing a gate at Tehran’s Freedom Stadium.
But it was worth it, she said: “A leg gets broken, but maybe it will lead to a change in the law. Or an issue regarding women’s rights might be brought to attention.”
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