Iranian lady Sara Khadem plays chess tournament without hijab

• Iranian chess player competed in an international competition without a scarf.
• Khadem is the most recent Iranian athlete to compete without a hijab.
• Elnaz Rekabi competed in South Korea sans a headscarf.

Sara Khadem, also known as Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, participated in an international competition without wearing a headscarf, according to Iranian news outlet.

Since the start of antigovernmental protests in September, Khadem is the most recent athlete to compete without a hijab.

Khadem was photographed competing in the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, without wearing the headscarf, which is required under Iranian dress code.

According to the International Chess Federation, the chess player was born in 1997 and is currently ranked number 10 in Iran among active players worldwide (804th overall).

Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi participated in South Korea in October without wearing the headscarf that was required of her; she later claimed that it had fallen off inadvertently.

It’s not clear, though, whether Rekabi was coerced into saying what she did.

During an awards event in Tehran in November, Iranian archer Parmida Ghasemi showed her support for antigovernmental demonstrations by taking off her headscarf. She later claimed she was unaware it had happened.

She can be seen letting her headscarf fall in a social media video that was widely seen as a sign of support for nationwide protests.

According to Iran’s deputy sports minister Maryam Kazemipour, athletes who violated Islamic principles afterwards “regretted” their behavior and “are searching for a chance to make up for their error.”

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