ALMATY (Reuters) – An Iranian female chess player competed in an international tournament in Kazakhstan without a headscarf on Wednesday for the second day in a row, a Reuters correspondent said.
A Reuters witness at the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, saw Sara Khadem compete without a headscarf, in violation of Iranian laws governing women’s dress codes.
Iran has been plagued by protests against the country’s religious leaders since mid-September, when Mohsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, died in the custody of the deputy police who detained her on charges of “vandalism”.
Laws requiring headscarves have become a flashpoint during the protests, with a group of female athletes competing outside without headscarves in public.
Khadim was born in 1997 and is also known as Sarasadat Khadim Sharia and is ranked 804th in the world according to the FIDE website. The site for the December 25-30 event has listed her as a participant in the Rapid and Blitz competitions.
Iranian news agencies Khabarzichi and Etemad reported on Monday that Khadem participated in the Almaty tournament without a headscarf.
Reuters report. Editing by Mark Porter
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Certified TV addict. Insanely humble zombie ninja. Coffee advocate. Web expert. Problem solver. »
