Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, president of Iran, has said that women should be allowed into sports stadiums because their presence will “promote chastity.�

Women have been barred from attending matches, such as national soccer games, in big stadiums and have long complained, particularly when female fans of visiting foreign teams were allowed in.

A state television announcer reported that Ahmadinejad "ordered the head of the sports organisation to provide facilities in the stadiums to watch national matches."

The president was quoted as saying: "The best stands should be allocated to women and families in the stadiums in which national and important matches are being held."

Iranian women have been fighting for the right to attend games for some time now, they’ve even had problems with the police when they tried to enter dressed as men or snuck in with foreign fans.