With the veil “it’s not me”, assured a Iranian chess player who fled to spain following participating in an international tournament bareheaded, in an interview published this Sunday.
Sara Khadem25 years old, participated in December in the World Chess Fast in Kazakhstan without the veil, compulsory for women in Iran.
The gesture was seen as a show of support for the protests that have been rocking the Islamic Republic since the death in custody on 16 September of Mahsa Amini.
The 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian girl had been arrested three days earlier by the morality police for allegedly infringing the dress code that governs the country.
Khademfrom his real name Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, explained in an interview with the daily The country that before the tournament in Kazakhstan, she only wore the headscarf “if there were cameras, because she was representing Iran.”
“But with the veil it’s not me, I don’t feel well, and therefore I wanted to end that situation. And I decided not to wear it anymore“he added, in his first statements since he arrived in spain in January with her husband and 10-month-old son.
Iranian athletes are required to abide by the strict Islamic Republic dress code for women, mainly covering their heads, when representing their country at international events. (With information from AFP)
