Iranian chess player Sara Khadem appears for tournament without mandatory hijab

Tehran, Dec 29: Amidst the raging protests in Iran, an Iranian chess player, Sara Khadem tool part in a tournament without wearing a hijab.

CNN whole citing Iranian news agency, Jamaran said that Sara also known as Sarasadat Khademalsharieh is the most recent athlete to take part in a tournament without a hijab. This comes in the midst of anti-government protests which began in September. The protests in Iran were triggered following the death of 22 year old Mahasa Amini after she was detained by the moral police.

Khadem was photographed competing in the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess championship without wearing a hijab, which is a mandate as per Iranian law.

Khadem according to the International Chess Federation was born in 1997 and is currently the 10th ranked player in Iran and 804th overall.

In October this year, Iranian climber Elanz Rekabi competed in South Korea without wearing the hijab. He later explained that it had fallen off inadvertently.

CNN reported that Iran's deputy sports minister, Maryam Kazemipour in statement said that athletes who violated Islamic principles afterwards regretted their behaviour and are searching for a chance to make up for their mistake.

As of November Iranian authorities are seeking the death penalty for at least 21 people in connection with the protests, a report by the Amnesty International said.

The Iran Human Rights said that last year 333 people were executed. The report also said that 55 executions had been announced. As many as 83.5 per cent of all executions included in the 2021 report (278) had not been announced by the authorities. Nearly 183 executions were for murder the report also said.

After the anti-hijab protest continued into its third months, Iranian prosecutor annulled that its morality police had been suspended. This force penalised women for not adhering to the stringent dress code.

The New York Times reported that Iran's Attorney General Mohammad Javad Montazeri said that the morality police was abolished by the same authorities who had set it up.

Amini was arrested in Tehran on September 16 for what the police said was due to inappropriate dressing. She died in custody three days later following which Iran has witnessed demonstrations in which many have lost their lives.