Tehran: The Iranian authorities have demolished the family home of Iranian sports climber Elnaz Rekabi, after she participated in international competition without wearing a headscarf.
33-year-old Elnaz Rekabi competed without a headscarf or hijab during the International Federation of Sport Climbing’s Asian Championships in Seoul on Sunday, October 16.
Videos of her wearing a headband and her hair in a ponytail during the competition went viral on social media.
A video circulated on social media, shows a destroyed structure and sports medals on the ground. The video also shows Rekabi’s brother, Davood, crying. Davood Rekabi is a sporting champion with ten gold medals in his name.
The man filming the video says, “This is the result of living in this country. A champion with kilos of medals is treated this way. She worked hard to make this country proud. But they demolished a 39 square meter house and left. What can I say ?”
Protests in Iran continues
Iran has been rocked by sweeping protests since September 16, over the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of Iran’s morality police.
Her death has since ignited anger over several issues, including the restrictions imposed on personal freedoms and strict rules regarding women’s clothing, as well as the living and economic crisis that Iranians suffer from, not to mention the strict laws imposed by the regime and its political and religious composition in general.
It is noteworthy that since the beginning of the popular uprising against the regime of the Islamic Republic, dozens of artists, writers and journalists have been arrested in Iran.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency (Hrana) announced that 470 protesters had been killed in the unrest as of Saturday, including 64 minors.
At least 18,210 people, including 584 students, were arrested in those protests that took place in 159 cities and towns and 143 universities.
On Sunday, Iran has disbanded its morality police following more than two months of demonstrations.
