International Volleyball Federation President welcomes relaxing of Iran's ban on women attending sporting events

FIVB President Ary S. Graça has welcomed the relaxing of a ban which prevents women attending sporting fixtures in the company of men ©Getty Images

International Volleyball Federation President (FIVB) President Ary S. Graça has welcomed the announcement that a ban preventing women from attending sporting matches in Iran is set to be relaxed.

Iran has come under pressure over the issue of female participation in sport and were widely criticised after British-Iranian Ghoncheh Ghavami was imprisoned after attempting to watch the FIVB World League match in Tehran between Iran and Italy last June.

Ghavami was imprisoned for "propagating against the ruling system" as women are banned in Iran from attending sporting events in the company of men in public stadiums, but was released on bail in November after 151 days in Evin prison.

Charges against the 26-year-old have now been dropped.

Iran has alsp promised to relax the ban on women attending sporting fixtures.

“The FIVB welcomes the news that Iran is easing its ban on women attending sporting events,” said Ary Graça.

“While it is unclear at this point how far this rule will be implemented, this is yet another step in the right direction for world sport.”

FIVB President Ary S. Graça has praised the Iranian Volleyball Federation for their role in helping to relax the ban on women attending sports events, including volleyball ©Getty Images

During Ghavami’s imprisonment the FIVB announced following a meeting with Human Rights Watch that Iran would not be awarded any FIVB controlled events while the ban remained in place.

Additionally the FIVB contacted the President of Iran Hassan Rouhani and the Iranian Volleyball Federation to in a bid to remove the ban.

“It is gratifying to see that the dialogue initiated last year has yielded some positive progress and I thank the Iranian authorities and the Iranian Volleyball Federation for their positive work,” Graça added.

“This news is evidence of the power of sport to inspire positive social change and the FIVB will continue its work to ensure inclusivity and the right of women to participate in sport on an equal basis all around the world."

The extent to which the ban is relaxed remains uncertain, with Iranian officials saying in January that foreign women would be able to attend this year’s Asian Volleyball Championships, while local women would remain banned from the event, which is set to take place in Tehran from July 31 to August 8.

Additionally although charges against Ghavami have been dropped, the 26-year-old remains subject to a travel ban for one year, while human rights campaigners are demanding Ghavami is compensated for her time in prison.