The Sports Venues Development and Maintenance Company, which is affiliated with the Islamic Republic's Ministry of Sports, closed Tehran's Enghelab Club and the national sports complex on Sunday 11 October. According to Iran International, the decision followed the failure to observe compulsory hijab at the club.
In its statement the company gave as the reason for the closure "taking the necessary measures to enforce Sharia, legal and customary rules and norms", and in another statement it banned, "until further notice", the activities of those parts of the two complexes that do not conform to these "norms".
Contradictory messages from the authorities
At the same time the Ministry of Sports announced that the club would continue operating in line with the same "norms"; a contradiction that once again shows the confusion of the government's bodies over enforcing compulsory hijab. A few hours later, Enghelab Club announced on its Instagram page that it would reopen on Monday 12 October on its usual schedule, from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Enghelab Club reopened its doors a day after being shut under the pretext of compulsory hijab.
Enghelab Club
Enghelab Club, known before 1979 as the Imperial Club, is one of the oldest and largest sports complexes in Tehran, and its golf course, swimming pool and tennis courts are used by many citizens. In the years since the "Woman, Life, Freedom" uprising, many women appear in public places without compulsory hijab, and the government has repeatedly tried to curb this civil resistance by sealing off businesses and venues.
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