Top Iranian Chess Player Exiled After Refusing To Wear Scarf

Iranian chess player, Sara Khadem who is also known as Sarasadat Khademalsharieh recently took part in an international tournament without a hijab.

Born in 1997, Sara Khadem took part in FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in Almaty without the hijab - a headscarf mandatory under Iran's strict dress codes.

The 25-year-old played the tournament without her headscarf to show solidarity with the protest movement in Iran, she thought a warning would be the worst that would happen to her, reported BBC. Instead, the top chess player can't return to Iran and there are arrest papers waiting for her.

The chess player is now living in exile in Southern Spain with her family, the BBC reported. She has requested the media outlet to not reveal her location for security reasons.

According to a report by Reuters a source, who did not want to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, said Khadem subsequently received multiple phone calls in which individuals warned her against returning home after the tournament, while others said she should come back, promising to "solve her problem".

Ms Khadem's relatives and parents, who are in Iran, had also received threats, without giving further details.

Iran has been swept by demonstrations against the country's clerical leadership since mid-September when 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini died in the custody of morality police who detained her for "inappropriate attire."

Laws enforcing mandatory hijab wearing have become a flashpoint during the unrest, with a string of sportswomen competing overseas appearing without their headscarves in public.

Khadem is ranked 804 in the world, according to the International Chess Federation website. The website for the Dec. 25-30 event listed her as a participant in both the Rapid and Blitz competitions.

The protests mark one of the boldest challenges to Iran's leadership since its 1979 revolution and have drawn in Iranians from all walks of life.

Women have played a prominent role, removing and in some cases burning headscarves, while protesters have taken heart from what they have seen as shows of support from both female and male Iranian athletes.