After years of being banned from entering a stadium in my own country, for no crime other than being a woman, this is how I walked in.
This was the World Cup FIFA 2026 between England and Panama but for me, it was beyond that.
You have to be a woman from Iran or Afghanistan to truly understand this emotion.
For whom this simple act, walking into a stadium, moving with joy, showing my hair, sitting next to men, was not just forbidden. I was beaten for it. Imprisoned for it. Humiliated for it. Exiled for it. And even in exile, I became a target for multiple assassination plots.
And now people lecture me: "Don't politicize football."
I have a question: which part of my body hasn't already been politicized by the Islamic Republic? My hair? My voice? My seat in a stadium?
They turned our entire existence into a political battlefield. Every inch of a woman was a crime scene under their law.
And now I'm supposed to just sit back, eat a hot dog, and enjoy the game?
I did enjoy the game. England won. But walking through those gates, that was the real victory.
@RigoIrizarry My Grandad was from Texas, it’s been lovely seeing where he came from.
He was so proud to be American, and I am so proud to say he was my Grandad.
I really hope to visit one day 🏴🇺🇸💖💞