Tehran includes women in the World's banner

A huge banner that has been discovered in the Iranian capital this week to push ahead with the national union and cheerleading at the World Championship has been met with much criticism, due to women's exclusion.

Situated in Tehran's main square, the new banner includes several women in a row of men near Iran's national players.

Both banners display people wearing Iran's various ethnic garments with the inscription: “S together we are champions. Our nation, a heartbeat”.

Many criticisms have included the original banner that does not involve women, calling it discriminatory.

In protest, at St. Petersburg Stadium in Russia, where the World Championship is being held, inscriptions such as “No stopping Iranian women” are held.

FIFA has allowed this inscription to appear during Iran's championship game.

Iran bans women from participating in sports events where men and police take part can stop those who fail to comply.

The arrests of several Iranian women who tried to enter the stadium in Tehran in March has prompted FIFA to call President Hasan Rohan, with the request that women be participants in these events.

But even after that request, the first banner to appear these days in Tehran's city displayed men who celebrated and held the World Cup in hand.

“A half-nation forgotten”

This led to fierce criticism in social networks and local media.

Various women, we lose”, was the headline of Ghano daily newspaper on June 14th.

Editor Mira Ghorbanfar had published a photo of the men's banner, stressing that the new non-women's <x0comb was born”.

Until yesterday, they wouldn't allow women in stadiums, but now they've taken them away from the concept of state”She said.

We women don't have hiss in the joys of our state”Banafshih Jamali said on Twitter. On the other hand, lawyer Fatemeh Zolghadr said the banner should be changed because of the hurt of Iranian women's feelings.

Both banners have been created by state services that are responsible for reporting. Many Iranian women are sports fans, regardless of the ban on participating in stadiums, where some were dressed as males just to participate.

Iran has many discriminating laws, in favour of men, including divorce, child care.

Iranian President Hassan Rohan, who is known as relatively moderate, had won the election in 2013 with the campaign for “equal rights for women”. / REL