A young woman activist takes on her government and the world's largest sports body, FIFA, to fight for women and girl's rights in her country.
The sister of Iran's biggest soccer star and a partner with Human Rights Watch describes her battle against the stadium ban, one of many rules which unfairly limit women's ability to participate fully in Iranian society.
Maryam Shojaei's brother, Masoud, is one of Iran's most famous soccer players, captain of three World Cup teams. But Maryam and her mother and sister never saw him play in Tehran's famous Azadi Stadium. For forty years no women--not one of the over 40 million women and girls in that country--were allowed in the stadium, except for those brave enough to sneak in disguised as men and run the risk of being arrested, beaten, and imprisoned.
"Azadi" means freedom in Iran's Persian language.
Here is the story of Maryam's battle to get this rule overturned through a variety of tactics including pressuring the government of Iran at great risk to herself and to her brother's position on the national team, and by pressuring FIFA, soccer's global entity, which was in violation of their own bylaws by allowing Iran's stadium ban.
Along the way we learn of rebellion by the White Scarves and "bearded ladies," and by the Blue Girl and the Red Girl, who notoriously gained access to Azadi Stadium, though with sometimes with longterm troubling results. Maryam's story is both a fascinating look into life in modern Iran for young women today and also a story filled with intrigue and danger. She employs spy-level secretive efforts to get past security guards and police but is taken into custody while protesting in Russia, and is arrested by the "morality police" in Tehran. Still, with the support of activist friends and her beloved family, she reaches the powerful halls of FIFA and the United Nations to plead her case. Masoud's final act on the turf at Azadi Stadium will bring tears to any reader's eyes.
Here is a nail-biter of a story for every activist, sports fan, young soccer player, and fighter for women's rights around the world.
