After participating in an international session without a veil, the president of the federation announced Iranian chess Player Sarah Khadem did not represent her country.
He commented on the player’s aspect that Khadim participated freely and at his own expense, according to his statement.
The announcement came after the Iranian chess player participated in an international tournament without wearing a headscarf, to be the latest of several Iranian athletes to appear in competitions without wearing a headscarf since the anti-government protests began.
Khabar Wazrshi and Etemad newspapers reported on Tuesday that Khadim competed in the International Chess Federation’s Blitz and Rapid Chess Championships, which were held in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, without wearing a headscarf.
The two newspapers also published pictures showing the player without a headscarf during the tournament, and “Khabar Wazrshi” published a picture of her wearing a headscarf without clarifying whether the picture was taken during the tournament or not.
Khadem has not posted any comments on his Instagram page about the course or the reports.
A famous player ranked 804 globally
Interestingly, Khadem, born in 1997 and also known as Sarah Sadat Khadem Al-Sharia, is ranked no. 804 in the world, according to the International Chess Federation website.
The website of the tournament, which takes place between December 25 and 30, has included her among the participants in the rapid and blitz competitions.
Iran has witnessed mass protests since mid-September against the ruling regime, following the death of 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, while detained by the “morality police”, who arrested her in because of his clothes.
These protests, attended by Iranians from all walks of life, are one of the boldest challenges facing the Iranian leadership since its revolution in 1979.
Women have an important role
Women also play a leading role, as they remove the veil and in some cases burn it, while the demonstrators cheer; Because of what they see as signs of support from Iranian male and female athletes.
In October, Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi competed in South Korea without a veil, and later claimed she did so unintentionally.
In November, an Iranian archer said she was unaware of her veil falling off at an awards ceremony in Tehran, after a video apparently showed her dropping her veil, which was widely seen as a sign of support for the archers. protesters.
And in November, Maryam Kazhimipour, Iran’s deputy sports minister, said some Iranian female athletes “behaved in violation of the rules and then apologized for their actions.”
Additionally, several Iranian national teams have refrained from singing the national anthem, especially before Iran’s opening match in the FIFA World Cup. Iran’s football team sang the anthem in the second and third matches.
