An Iranian chess player who fled to Spain after she took part in an international tournament without the mandatory hijab said Sunday she is “not myself” when she wears the headscarf. In December Sara Khadem, 25, appeared without a hijab — which is compulsory for women under Iranian law — at the International Chess Federation (FIDE) World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
In an interview published Sunday in the Spanish newspaper El Pais, Khadem said that before the tournament in Almaty, she would only wear the hijab “if there were cameras because I was representing Iran”.
“But with the veil, I am not myself, I don’t feel well, and therefore I wanted to put an end to that situation. And I decided not to wear it anymore,” she said in her first public comments since moving to Spain.
Read more: https://sports.ndtv.com/chess/not-myself-with-hijab-says-exiled-iranian-chess-player-3714673
