Iranian woman competes in international chess tournament without hijab
Sara Khadem photographed at Kazakhstan championship without compulsory head covering, joining other female Iranian athletes who have competed bareheaded in defiance of regime
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Iranian chess player Sara Khadem competed this week at an international tournament without a headscarf, the latest in a series of high-profile Iranian women to publicly shun the head covering since the beginning of nationwide protests in August.
Citing two Iranian media outlets, Reuters reported Tuesday that Khadem competed in the Blitz Chess Championships and the FIDE World Rapid in Almaty, Kazakhstan, without a hijab, which is compulsory for women under Iranian law.
The Iranian outlets both published photos of Khadem sans headscarf. One outlet posted another photo that showed her wearing a headscarf, but did not say whether the photo was taken at the competition in Almaty.
Khadem, who is ranked 804 in the world according to the International Chess Federation, has not made any comment.
The protests in Iran were triggered by the September 16 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, 22, after her arrest for an alleged breach of the strict Iranian dress code for women.
Since the outbreak of demonstrations, female protesters have taken to the streets, burning their headscarves and cutting their hair in defiance of the mandatory head-covering laws.
#سارا_خادم_الشریعه و #آتوسا_پورکاشیان دو استاد بزرگ ایرانی شطرنج بدون حجاب اجباری در مسابقات سریع و برق آسای قزاقستان حاضر شدند. آتوسا زیر پرچم آمریکا مسابقه می دهد و سارا زیر پرچم ایران.#مهسا_امینی pic.twitter.com/CJqVoYzJVu
— Elham Yazdiha (@elhamyazdiha) December 26, 2022
Khadem joins a growing list of Iranian athletes and sports teams to make public gestures in support of the protest movement.
In October, Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi competed without a headscarf, resulting in her being placed under house arrest and forced to make an apology, according to reports at the time.
Earlier that month, top Tehran soccer club Esteghlal refused to celebrate after winning the Iranian Super Cup, with its player Siavash Yazdani in a post-match interview dedicating the victory to “women and those who lost loved ones.”
Prior to Iran’s opening match against England at the FIFA World Cup, the Iranian national team opted not to sing the national anthem, apparently in solidarity with the protest movement in their homeland.
Michael Horovitz contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.