I wrote a couple of days ago about the utterly absurd case in Iran of a British citizen Ghoncheh Ghavami, 25, being found guilty of spreading anti-regime propaganda and in fact all she had actually done was to attempt to go a watch a game of Volleyball, a sport that is apparently the exclusive preserve of men. As a result they jailed her.
There is an update now …
Volleyball federation sanctions Iran for barring women fans
The International Federation of Volleyball (FIVB) sanctioned Iran on Sunday from hosting international events for as long as women are not allowed to watch games.
The announcement from FIVB comes a week after a British-Iranian woman was jailed for five months after being arrested in Tehran for trying to attend a volleyball match.
A spokesman for the international federation told AFP that the FIVB will “not give Iran the right to host any future FIVB directly controlled events such as World Championships, especially under age, until the ban on women attending volleyball matches is lifted”.
This was a great step for them to take. If indeed Iran decides that half the human population is not permitted to even watch, then it is wholly appropriate for them to be sent a clear message telling them that they don’t get to host any games.
So I guess if you are female and like sport then you will just have to settle for football instead … oh wait …
Women are also banned from attending football matches in Iran.
Why is it like this? When asked the answer given is …
The Iranian regime’s police chief General Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam said in June “we cannot allow the presence of women in stadia” because gender mixing “is not yet in the public interest”.
If indeed that was true then that could be easily resolved by simply banning all the men, but no this is Islam and so the solution is to always ban women, never the men, why is that the case?
Another example of this religious lunacy is that men are apparently aroused by the glimpse of women, so once again the responsibility is pushed on to women and men demand that women have to cover up. Instead, would it not be more appropriate to simply tell men to take responsibility for their own actions.
Embracing 7th century beliefs as the ultimate perfect truth will lead to 7th century solutions that are wholly inappropriate for the 21st century.
Finally: If you have not done so yet, please don’t forget to sign the petition to free Ghoncheh Ghavami, over 721,000 others already have.
(Hat tip to Lily for the story tip)