Sara Khadem al-Sharia without hijab at the World Chess Championships
Sara Khadem al-Sharia, a grandmaster from Iran, appeared without the mandatory hijab at the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in Kazakhstan.
Atousa Pourkashiyan, another Iranian chess grandmaster who has emigrated to the United States, is participating under the American flag in these competitions.
These competitions started on December 25th in Kazakhstan and will continue until December 30th.
In the 2019 competitions held in Moscow, the Iranian Chess Federation did not send the men’s team due to fear of facing Israeli opponents.
Alireza Firouzja participated in those competitions against the federation’s decision and now competes under the French flag.
In the same competitions, Mitra Hejazipour, a member of Iran’s national team, competed without the Islamic hijab at the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships hosted by Moscow. Shortly after, the head of the chess federation announced her expulsion from the national team. At that time, Ms. Hejazipour was studying and living in France.