By Country / Iran
Iranian Conservatives Oppose Women In Stadiums
April 26, 2006
Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad in training with the national soccer team (file photo) (Fars)
Ayatollah Fazel Lankarani was one of a number of conservative clerics and politicians to argue that it is un-Islamic for women to attend men's sporting events.
Another cleric, Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirzai, said it was not safe for women.
The order would overturn a ban stretching back over 25 years on women attending soccer matches.
Ahmadinejad justified his decision on the grounds it would help bring morality and chastity to public places.
(ISNA, FARS)