Tehran: One of Iran’s top-ranked female chess players, Sara Khadem, reportedly is planning to settle in Spain after playing in an international chess tournament without a headscarf amid ongoing anti-hijab protests in Iran, local media reported.
25-year-old Sara Khadem, also known as Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, made headlines around the world when she appeared to play for a second day— Wednesday, December 28, at the Fide World Rapid and Blitz Chess championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, without a headscarf.
Sara Khadem, is not planning to return to Iran after the tournament, Guardian reported quoting the Spanish newspaper El País.
Khadem plans to move to Spain with her husband and young child following the events as a result of safety fears.
Khadem became the latest in a series of female athletes to challenge Iran’s strict dress code for women amid anti-hijab protests that erupted in September.
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.
