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Iran bans women from public Euro 2012 screenings, says they should ‘thank police’

Despite public screenings of football matches becoming a popular pastime for couples and families in Iran during the 2010 World Cup, women have been banned from watching Euro 2012 in public. The movie theater screenings of the matches are now segregated, like so many other aspects of Iranian society and the local police think ladies should be thanking them for it.

From the AFP:

"It is an inappropriate situation when men and women watch football in (movie) theatres together," said Bahman Kargar, Iran's deputy police commander in charge of social affairs, according to the ISNA news agency.

"Men, while watching football, get excited and sometimes utter vulgar curses or tell dirty jokes," he said. "It is not within the dignity of women to watch football with men. Women should thank the police" for the ban.

Well, often times it's not within the dignity of men to watch football with men either, but they can still do it.

Anyway, while Iranian men continue to exclude women from more carefree activities like this, Iranian women are taking up martial arts in increasingly large numbers and training to be ninjas. Yes, ninjas. Don't want them watching football with you? Let's see you try to "utter vulgar curses" after you have a taste of their katanas.