Lynn Chaya - 8h ago - National Post
While Iran faces its second month of brutal crackdowns on dissidents, one Iranian athlete chose to stand with her fellow protesters in an act of defiance against the regime’s mandatory hijab law.
A screengrab of Iranian athlete Elnaz Rekabi preparing to scale a wall during the IFSC Climbing Asian Championship finals in Seoul on October 15, 2022.
Elnaz Rekabi, a 33-year-old Tehran native, is one of the Iran’s top climbing athletes. She is one of only two Iranian women to compete in public without a headscarf.
A viral video on social media showed Rekabi at the IFSC Climbing Asian Championship finals in Seoul over the weekend scaling a wall with her hair tied in a ponytail.
“Sports can be highly political,” tweeted European Member of Parliament Hannah Neumann.
“At the beginning, it was a little bizarre for the other athletes who were curious about a girl wearing a scarf on her head and an outfit that covered the arms and legs whilst competing inside in such a hot temperature,” she said.
“For sure when it’s hot, the hijab becomes a problem. During competition your body needs to evacuate the heat. But we have tried to create an outfit ourselves that respects the hijab and is compatible with practicing the sport of climbing.”
As one of only a few female climbers in Iran, she hoped to be an inspiration to women trying to break into the scene.
Iran prison fire kills four, injures 61 as protests persist
Related video: Iranian athlete competes without Hijab; Elnaz Rekabi tosses Islamic Republic's diktat in the air
Duration 2:21 View on Watch
“My friends congratulate me and encourage me to continue. But it is true that every time people ask me about what I do they are stunned. A female climber? But on a positive note it does help other girls to come out and practice this sport.”
After this weekend’s competition, Rekabi’s fans supported her message.
Iranian journalist Sima Sabet stated that Rekabi may not be allowed to participate in Iran’s national team again as a consequence of removing the hijab.
Female boxer Sadaf Khadem paved the way with firsts for athletes in Iran. In 2019, she became the first female boxer since the Iranian Revolution to compete in an official boxing contest, the first Iranian woman to win an official match and the first to remove the hijab during competition.
During her first highly publicized match in Royan, France in 2019, against opponent Anne Chauvin, she respectfully removed her headscarf and replaced it with a blue headguard and gumshield, and opted for shorts and a t-shirt in the colours of the Iranian flag.
On April 16, 2019, two days after her fight, Khadem cancelled her flight to Iran. Her representative told Reuters that the authorities had issued arrest warrants for both her and her coach Mahyar Monshipour. She has remained in France after seeking asylum.
In a recent interview with Arab News, she said France offered her freedom and protection.
“I lived in Iran, I know what it’s like to be a woman living in Iran,” she said. “Being a woman is really hard.”
She expressed her solidarity with those fighting back home.
“If I don’t speak up today I will regret it tomorrow, she added.
“I stand by the Iranian people until the day Iran becomes free. I am their soldier, I am a champion in the eyes of the Iranian people. I stand by them until the end for freedom and for human rights.”
During her first highly publicized match in Royan, France in 2019, against opponent Anne Chauvin, she respectfully removed her headscarf and replaced it with a blue headguard and gumshield, and opted for shorts and a t-shirt in the colours of the Iranian flag.
“I confounded the rules of my country,” Khadem told the Guardian . I wasn’t wearing a hijab, I was coached by a man — some people take a dim view of this.”
On April 16, 2019, two days after her fight, Khadem cancelled her flight to Iran. Her representative told Reuters that the authorities had issued arrest warrants for both her and her coach Mahyar Monshipour. She has remained in France after seeking asylum.
In a recent interview with Arab News, she said France offered her freedom and protection.
“I lived in Iran, I know what it’s like to be a woman living in Iran,” she said. “Being a woman is really hard.”
She expressed her solidarity with those fighting back home.
“If I don’t speak up today I will regret it tomorrow, she added.
“I stand by the Iranian people until the day Iran becomes free. I am their soldier, I am a champion in the eyes of the Iranian people. I stand by them until the end for freedom and for human rights.”
Female athlete represents Iran without hijab at overseas climbing competition
Female athlete represents Iran without hijab at overseas climbing competition
SOMAYEH MALEKIAN and MORGAN WINSOR
Mon, October 17, 2022
A female athlete from Iran did not wear a hijab at an international competition over the weekend in open defiance of her country's mandate, amid fierce protests against the Islamic Republic's restrictions on women's dress.
Iranian sport climber Elnaz Rekabi, 33, was seen competing without the Islamic headscarf at the International Federation of Sport Climbing's Asian Championships in Seoul on Sunday. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, women are required to wear a hijab in Iran. They must also abide by the mandatory rule outside Iran when they are officially representing the country abroad.
MORE: Students in Iran say they will continue to protest despite warnings, threats from regime
Rekabi is believed to be one of the first Iranian female athletes to disobey the hijab requirement -- a move that was widely praised by observers on social media as "historic," "daring," "courageous" and "powerful." Sadaf Khadem, 27, was bare-headed and wore shorts when she became the first female Iranian boxer to win an overseas fight in 2019. Khadem had intended to return to Tehran after the competition but was forced to stay in France, after Iranian authorities reportedly issued an arrest warrant over her violations of the strictly enforced Islamic dress code. Iranian women who don't cover up in public are routinely arrested by the country's morality police.
PHOTO: Elnaz Rekabi representing Iran during the International Federation of Sport Climbing's Asian Championships in Seoul on Oct. 16, 2022. (International Federation of Sport Climbing/YouTube)
Rekabi got to the final round of the weeklong annual Asian Championships and finished in fourth place on Sunday. The Iran Mountaineering and Sport Climbing Federation announced the result on its website alongside an undated image of Rekabi wearing a hijab. Rekabi did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment on Monday, while telephone calls to the Iran Mountaineering and Sport Climbing Federation went unanswered.
MORE: Iranian teenage protester's death sparks global outcry, alleged threats to family from regime
Large-scale protests have swept across Iran in recent weeks, sparked by the death of a young woman who was detained by the morality police for breaching the dress code. Mahsa Amini, 22, died in police custody in Tehran on Sept. 16, three days after she was arrested over allegedly wearing her state-mandated hijab too loosely. Iran requires women to don the garment in a way that fully covers their hair while in public.
PHOTO: In this Sept. 24, 2022 file photo people take part in a protest following the death of Mahsa Amini in front of the United Nations headquarters in Erbil, Iraq, Sept. 24, 2022. (Azad Lashkari/Reuters, FILE)
Iranian police have denied that Amini was mistreated. They said she suffered a heart attack at the police station and died after being in a coma for two days. Amini's family said she had no history of heart issues and that they were prevented from seeing her body before she was buried, according to The Associated Press.
Female protesters in Iran have been seen taking off their headscarves and cutting their hair to show solidarity with Amini. The movement has garnered global attention, with people around the world taking to the streets in support of the Iranian protesters.
MORE: Student protesters in Iran tear-gassed, arrested by police: Report
The widespread demonstrations in Iran have been met with a brutal crackdown by authorities, who are disrupting internet access and allegedly using both excessive and lethal force. Nearly 8,000 protesters have been arrested and at least 240 have been killed, including 32 children, according to U.S.-based rights monitor HRANA.
Female athlete represents Iran without hijab at overseas climbing competition originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Female athlete represents Iran without hijab at overseas climbing competition
SOMAYEH MALEKIAN and MORGAN WINSOR
Mon, October 17, 2022
A female athlete from Iran did not wear a hijab at an international competition over the weekend in open defiance of her country's mandate, amid fierce protests against the Islamic Republic's restrictions on women's dress.
Iranian sport climber Elnaz Rekabi, 33, was seen competing without the Islamic headscarf at the International Federation of Sport Climbing's Asian Championships in Seoul on Sunday. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, women are required to wear a hijab in Iran. They must also abide by the mandatory rule outside Iran when they are officially representing the country abroad.
MORE: Students in Iran say they will continue to protest despite warnings, threats from regime
Rekabi is believed to be one of the first Iranian female athletes to disobey the hijab requirement -- a move that was widely praised by observers on social media as "historic," "daring," "courageous" and "powerful." Sadaf Khadem, 27, was bare-headed and wore shorts when she became the first female Iranian boxer to win an overseas fight in 2019. Khadem had intended to return to Tehran after the competition but was forced to stay in France, after Iranian authorities reportedly issued an arrest warrant over her violations of the strictly enforced Islamic dress code. Iranian women who don't cover up in public are routinely arrested by the country's morality police.
PHOTO: Elnaz Rekabi representing Iran during the International Federation of Sport Climbing's Asian Championships in Seoul on Oct. 16, 2022. (International Federation of Sport Climbing/YouTube)
Rekabi got to the final round of the weeklong annual Asian Championships and finished in fourth place on Sunday. The Iran Mountaineering and Sport Climbing Federation announced the result on its website alongside an undated image of Rekabi wearing a hijab. Rekabi did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment on Monday, while telephone calls to the Iran Mountaineering and Sport Climbing Federation went unanswered.
MORE: Iranian teenage protester's death sparks global outcry, alleged threats to family from regime
Large-scale protests have swept across Iran in recent weeks, sparked by the death of a young woman who was detained by the morality police for breaching the dress code. Mahsa Amini, 22, died in police custody in Tehran on Sept. 16, three days after she was arrested over allegedly wearing her state-mandated hijab too loosely. Iran requires women to don the garment in a way that fully covers their hair while in public.
PHOTO: In this Sept. 24, 2022 file photo people take part in a protest following the death of Mahsa Amini in front of the United Nations headquarters in Erbil, Iraq, Sept. 24, 2022. (Azad Lashkari/Reuters, FILE)
Iranian police have denied that Amini was mistreated. They said she suffered a heart attack at the police station and died after being in a coma for two days. Amini's family said she had no history of heart issues and that they were prevented from seeing her body before she was buried, according to The Associated Press.
Female protesters in Iran have been seen taking off their headscarves and cutting their hair to show solidarity with Amini. The movement has garnered global attention, with people around the world taking to the streets in support of the Iranian protesters.
MORE: Student protesters in Iran tear-gassed, arrested by police: Report
The widespread demonstrations in Iran have been met with a brutal crackdown by authorities, who are disrupting internet access and allegedly using both excessive and lethal force. Nearly 8,000 protesters have been arrested and at least 240 have been killed, including 32 children, according to U.S.-based rights monitor HRANA.
Female athlete represents Iran without hijab at overseas climbing competition originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
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