An Iranian female chess player participated in an international tournament without wearing a headscarf, the latest among several Iranian athletes to appear in competitions without wearing a headscarf since Anti-government protests begin.
AndIran has witnessed mass protests since mid-September against the ruling regimefollowing the death of the Iranian Kurdish young woman, Mahsa Amini (22 years), while she was being held by the “morality police”, who arrested her because of her clothes.
The newspapers “Khabar Wazrshi” and “Etemad” reported on Tuesday that Sara Khadem competed in the Blitz and Rapid chess championships of the International Chess Federation, which were held in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, without wearing a headscarf. The two newspapers published pictures showing the player without a veil during the tournament, apparently, and “Khabar Wazrshi” published a picture of her with a veil without clarifying whether the photo was taken during the tournament itself or not.
Khadem did not post any comments on her Instagram page on the course or the reports.
Khadem, born in 1997 and also known as Sarah Sadat Khadem Al-Sharia, is ranked No. 804 in the world, according to the website of the International Chess Federation. The tournament’s website, which takes place between December 25 and 30, listed her among the participants in the rapid and blitz chess competitions.
From the Iranian protests “archive”
The protests, involving Iranians from all walks of life, are one of the boldest challenges the Iranian leadership has faced since its 1979 revolution.
Women play a prominent role in it, as they remove the veil and in some cases burn it, while the protesters encouraged; Because of what they see as signs of support from male and female athletes from Iran.
Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi without a headscarf during an international competition
In October, Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi competed in South Korea without a veil, and later said that she had done so unintentionally.
In November, an Iranian archer said she did not notice her veil falling during an awards ceremony in Tehran, after a video showed her apparently letting her veil fall, which was widely seen as a sign of support for the protesters.
And in November, Maryam Kazhimipour, Iran’s deputy sports minister, said that some Iranian female athletes “behaved in violation of norms, and then apologized for their actions.”
Several Iranian national teams refrained from chanting the national anthem, especially before Iran’s opening match in the FIFA World Cup. The Iranian football team chanted the anthem in its second and third games.