World Cup 2022: Shanequa Paris' column

Another week in Qatar, another football match and another protest.

All eyes are focused on the world's biggest sporting tournament, so it's no surprise that people use this as a chance to tell the world what's on their mind.

And that is exactly what many Iranian fans have been doing during their matches here in Qatar.

I was at Iran's first match against England when the players refused to sing the national anthem and their fans loudly protested in the stands. I was intrigued to see what the atmosphere would be like during Iran's second match against Wales, so I went along to see for myself.

A young Iran fan I spoke to about the protests

Earlier this year, a woman called Mahsa Amini, died in Iran after being arrested for breaking the rules around wearing a hijab. Since then, lots of Iranian citizens have been protesting against the government, as they disagree with the strict rules about how women and girls should dress.

Walking around outside the stadium before the match I could see many Iran fans with banners and signs showing support for Mahsa Amini.

Inside the stadium, the big question was whether the players would sing the national anthem. I was sat near lots of Iran fans and I could see and hear how passionate they were.

Watching the Iran players reluctantly sing their national anthem, I felt emotional. Hearing the loud boos from their fans and even seeing some adults crying around me, I could tell many other people felt it too.

I reported from Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium where around 42,000 fans watched Wales against Iran

Iran won the match with two late goals and afterwards their fans were really celebrating. The Iran fans LOVE their football.

And, although there were many protesters, not everyone wanted to discuss politics. I experienced this when trying to speak to young people after the game to hear their thoughts on the demonstrations and three families refused to talk about it, explaining that they just wanted to enjoy the football.

I also witnessed a female protester being escorted out of the Ahmad Bin Ali stadium by a group of security guards ushering her towards the exit, she didn't look very happy. She was wearing a black T-shirt with the words 'woman, life, freedom' written on it in bold white letters because she wanted to show her support for the protests taking place in Iran.

I've noticed differences between men and women here in Qatar

For me, being a woman during this World Cup feels like being in the spotlight - from the Iran protests, to women's rights here in Qatar, there is certainly a list of things you should and shouldn't do.

Currently as part of Qatar's law, women need written permission from a male guardian to enrol at university, get married or study abroad. As a tourist, I have noticed a difference in how things are here for women.

For example, at a restaurant, I saw that women were seated in one area and the men in another - the waiter explained to me that at traditional Qatari restaurants this tends to be the case, men and women sit separately. Even when going through security at the football stadiums, I have to enter a separate queue to my producer, a man, as only female security staff are allowed to search me.

Young girls in Qatar also experience these differences. This week, I spoke to Eliza, a 12-year-old girl who moved to Qatar from England four years ago, she loves living here in Doha but explained: "My friend and I were sent away from a beach the other day because she was wearing a crop top, it was quite annoying."

In some restaurants in Qatar, women sit separately to men

I've also had two instances when I've been ignored by men here - a security guard completely ignored me and only spoke to my male colleague, and again in a lobby area when I was ignored by staff who only spoke to my male colleague - both times I felt uncomfortable, it wasn't a nice feeling.

Often in Qatari culture, men will address the male in a couple rather than the woman, as they believe this is a sign of respect. Being a black woman, when travelling around the world I've experienced discrimination in most countries, but so far thankfully not here in Qatar.

I find it refreshing when I'm out travelling alone on the metro and I see another woman doing the same with a smile on her face, I only hope that women around the world can have that same smile and happiness no matter where they are.