Iranian activist blocked from World Cup match allowed to protest
LONDON - An Iranian activist blocked from a World Cup match in Russia after demonstrating against her country's ban on women attending soccer games planned to renew her protest at a match on Monday, as global pressure mounted on Tehran to change its policy.
Maryam Qashqaei Shojaei made headlines when she unfurled a banner during Iran's first World Cup match against Morocco, but was prevented from repeating the protest at Iran's second game against Spain last week.
On Monday Shojaei said authorities who confiscated her banner had transported it to Russia's Mordovia Arena, where Monday's match between Iran and Portugal is taking place.
"It feels like a victory to be holding up the banner again," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The move came amid heightened pressure on the Islamic republic, which lifted its ban temporarily for the first time last week when it allowed families to watch a broadcast of the match against Spain in a section of the stadium.
