The first game of the Iran Pro League football season kicked off recently, with two middle-ranking teams playing out a seemingly unremarkable match at the Vatani Stadium in Qaem Shahr, a small provincial city in Northern Iran. Who cares right? Well, it turns out that something remarkable did happen at this match. It was reportedly the first top-flight men's match in Iran to be covered by a female photographer.
How did she do it? Parisa Pourtaherian loves sport, especially football, and has dreamed of covering a professional match. However, due to the stadium ban for women, in place since 1981 when it was decided that women should not be watching a game that men play wearing shorts, Parisa has been unable to join her male colleagues at stadiums around the country to photograph the action. But she has now decided to take matters into her own hands. Arriving at Vatani Stadium three hours before the game, she set out to ask owners of buildings nearby if she could set up on a roof to get a good vantage point. Eventually, after the match had already begun, she got permission at a suitable location. Armed with a huge telephoto lens, Parisa managed to capture quality images of the game, doing a professional job whilst neatly circumventing the controversial rules. She was noticed by male photographers in the stadium, and images of her dedication to her trade have gone viral first in Iran, and now worldwide.
The discussion that Parisa's actions have sparked are the latest in a long-running dispute in this football-mad country. Women have long campaigned for the ban to be lifted, and there was even a successful movie made about attempts by women to get into matches wearing elaborate disguises. The recent World Cup in Russia showed Iranian women, unveiled, colorful and full of joy, bringing a wonderful presence to the matches with their enthusiasm and knowledge of the game, making people back in Iran even more determined to have the ban overturned. As of today however, nothing has changed and the authorities are still enforcing the ban.
Scroll down below to see Parisa in action, as well as some of the shots she managed to capture from her unusual vantage point, and let us know what you think in the comments!
This is Parisa Pourtaherian an Iranian sports photographer
Image credits: Parisa Pourtaherian
She especially likes football photography
Image credits: Parisa Pourtaherian
The problem is that Iranian women are banned from many men's sports events
Image credits: Parisa Pourtaherian
But she found a way to get around the system
Image credits: Parisa Pourtaherian
Image credits: Parisa Pourtaherian
By photographing the first match of the new football season from a nearby house's rooftop
Image credits: Parisa Pourtaherian
Pourtaherian said she got idea last season, when she saw photos of people watching the match from nearby rooftops
Image credits: Parisa Pourtaherian
She spent nearly half of the match trying to convince a homeowner to let her onto their roof. In the end, she found one that agreed
Here are the pictures she managed to snap
Image credits: Parisa Pourtaherian
Image credits: Parisa Pourtaherian
Women have long campaigned for the ban to be lifted
Image credits: Parisa Pourtaherian
There was even a successful movie made about attempts by women to get into matches wearing elaborate disguises
Image credits: Parisa Pourtaherian
The recent World Cup in Russia showed Iranian women, unveiled, colorful and full of joy
Image credits: Parisa Pourtaherian
Making people back home in Iran even more determined to have the ban overturned
Image credits: Parisa Pourtaherian
As of today however, nothing has changed and the authorities are still enforcing the ban
Image credits: Parisa Pourtaherian
Although Parisa's actions have placed more pressure on authorities to review the situation
Image credits: Parisa Pourtaherian
Here's what people had to say about it
