Iranian chess player 'moving to Spain' after competing without headscarf
Iranian chess player ‘moving to Spain’ after competing without headscarf
Sara Khadem and family plan to set up residence in an unnamed Spanish city, according to reports
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Iranian chess player Sara Khadem competing in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on 26 December. Photograph: Lennart Ootes/FIDE/Reuters
Ashifa Kassam in Madrid
@ashifa_k
Thu 29 Dec 2022 16.24 EST
First published on Thu 29 Dec 2022 10.30 EST
One of Iran’s top-ranked female chess players is reportedly planning to settle in Spain after photographs emerged of her taking part in an international tournament without a headscarf. Sara Khadem, ranked 804 in the world and 10th in her home country, was not planning to return to Iran after the tournament due to fear of reprisals, two sources told Spanish newspaper El País. Instead, Khadem and her husband, the film director Ardeshir Ahmadi, and the couple’s young child will move to an unnamed Spanish city.
Iranian chess player reportedly relocating after competing without headscarf – video
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The report comes after Khadem, also known as Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, made headlines around the world as she appeared to play for a second day at the Fide World Rapid and Blitz Chess championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, without a headscarf. The 25-year-old player has become the latest in a string of sportswomen who have seemingly defied Iran’s strict dress code for women since anti-government protests erupted in September.
The nationwide demonstrations have gripped Iran and continued for more than 100 days after an Iranian-Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, died in the custody of morality police after being arrested for not complying with the country’s hijab regulations. Iranian authorities have cracked down hard, with at least 100 of those arrested facing charges punishable by death, according to the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights. Almost 500 protesters were believed to have been killed, the group said this week, while the UN said in November that at least 14,000 people had been arrested.
As a broad base of protesters wages one of the boldest challenges to Iran’s leadership since the 1979 revolution, they have seized on shows of support from Iranian athletes and celebrities. In October, the Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi received a hero’s welcome on her return to Tehran after she competed in South Korea without a headscarf. After Rekabi apologised and insisted that her hijab had accidentally slipped off, activists expressed concerns that the comments had been made under pressure from Iranian authorities.
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/29/iranian-chess-player-moving-spain-competing-without-headscarf-sara-khadem