Iranian woman takes part in chess competitions without a headscarf

Mahsa amini

An Iranian chess player took part in an international competition without a headscarf, defying the government's dress code. 

Iranian citizen Sara Khadim attended a chess tournament in Almaty, Kazakhstan, without a headscarf, despite the Iranian government requiring women to adopt their own dress code. 

It should be noted that Mehsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman, was also arrested on charges of wearing "inappropriate clothing", after which she died in police custody. 

There were nationwide protests against the death of Mehsa Amini and women of all ages took part and registered their protest. Even before Sara Khadimi, Iranian women in sports were examples of not wearing headscarves in international competitions. are getting produced. 

However, Sara Khadim, who won the titles of International Master and Grandmaster, did not share any information about the last competition on her Instagram account. 

According to the International Chess Federation website, Sara Khadim, born in 1997, is ranked 804th in the world. 

The recent protests have been the biggest challenge facing the Iranian government since the 1979 revolution, which drew people from all walks of life. 

Women in particular played a very important role in these protests. Women took part in protests without hijab, breaking government rules but also openly burning hijabs. 

Both male and female Iranian athletes have also strongly supported the anti-government protests. In October, Iranian mountaineer Alnaz Rakkabi took part in a competition in Janvi Korea without wearing a hijab, but Alnaz Rakkabi later said she did so unintentionally. 

Iran's Deputy Sports Minister Maryam Kazemi said in November some athletes had violated Islamic values ​​and later apologized. 

The Iranian government has dubbed the protests "riots" and blamed other countries for inciting the protesters. 

According to the Iranian human rights organization Harna, 507 people have been killed in the protests so far, and 66 members of the security forces have also died. According to the government, 300 people have been killed so far, including security personnel.