Iranian women have watched a FIFA soccer match kick-off after being freely allowed into a stadium for the first time in decades.
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Iran faces Cambodia in the 2022 World Cup qualifier being held on Thursday at Tehran's Azadi Stadium.
But the match has taken on even greater importance after Iran, facing pressure from the world soccer body, allocated 4000 tickets for women. They had been banned since 1981.
Authorities provided special security and female police officers for the match.
Nurse Zahra Pashaei, 29, has previously only known soccer games from television.
"We are so happy that finally we got the chance to go to the stadium. It's an extraordinary feeling," she said.
"At least for me, 22 or 23 years of longing and regret lies behind this."
The decision follows the death of a young woman who set herself on fire after hearing she could face prison time for sneaking into an Iranian soccer match disguised as a man.
Iran is the world's last nation to bar women from soccer matches. Saudi Arabia recently began allowing women into soccer matches.
Australian Associated Press
