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.
1—Walk out to the 90s Bulls intro song
2—Beat Paraguay 4-1
3—Beat Australia 2-0
4—Blast Free Bird after each goal
5—Win the group after 2 games
6—Pray as a team after the game
7—Sing Take Me Home, Country Roads with the whole stadium
This is the way🇺🇸 https://t.co/ZoeXScrvr5