Sara Khadem al-Sharieh without hijab at the World Chess Championships
Sara Khadem al-Sharieh, an Iranian chess grandmaster, 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 in these competitions under the American flag.
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 out of fear of facing Israeli opponents.
Alireza Firouzja participated in those competitions against the federation’s wishes and now competes under the French flag.
In the same competitions, Mitra Hejazipour, a member of the Iranian national team in the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships hosted by Moscow, faced her opponents without the Islamic hijab, and shortly after, the president of the chess federation announced her expulsion from the national team. At that time, Ms. Hejazipour was studying and living in France.