Huge victory for female journalist in Iran

Tehran, Nov 12 (IANS/EFE)

The Iranian authorities allowed as of Wednesday women journalists to cover men's volleyball matches.

Females are banned from attending public men's sport games, which could be only attended by public and male reporters.

The Iranian ministry of youth and sports will grant permission to female reporters and photographers to attend such sporting events, Iranian state news agency, IRNA, reported.

Iranian volleyball is under pressure from the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) for not allowing women to enter stadiums, which disqualified Iran from hosting World Junior Championship, Fars news agency reported.

Earlier this month, an Iranian court sentenced Ghoncheh Ghavami, a 25-year-old British-Iranian woman, to a year in jail after she had cared to attend a volleyball game as a spectator.

Ghavami, a law student at the University of London, was arrested June 20 after attending, along with several women's rights activists, a men's volleyball game in the Azadi Stadium in Tehran.

The young people demonstrated outside the sports centre demanding freedom for women to attend such public events and several of them were arrested by the security forces.

Ghavami is accused of "propaganda against the state" and has spent part of her detention in Evin prison in northern Tehran.

This case has attracted public and international attention as a number of online campaigns were launched to demand the release of Ghavami.

FIVB also has urged the Iranian authorities to release Ghavami. Earlier, the organisation banned Iran from hosting the 2015 World Junior Championship, which will now be held in Argentina.

The international federation also warned Iran that it would not be allowed to host any other international competition if it does not remove the ban.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International has denounced the arrest and demanded her release.