Iranian Chess Star Sara Khadem, Who Removed Hijab, Gets Spanish Citizenship – News18

An Iranian chess player who moved to Spain in January after she competed without a hijab and had an arrest warrant issued against her at home has been granted Spanish citizenship, Spain said on Wednesday.

In an interview with Reuters earlier this year, Iranian chess player Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, better known as Sara Khadem, said she had no regrets about her actions. She risked arrest in Iran for playing chess without her hijab now she has been granted Spanish citizenship.

“We always have to predict what is going to happen next, but for what happened in Almaty I didn’t really predict anything. It didn’t go as I expected.”

During a tournament in Kazakhstan last year, Iranian chess player Sara Khadem removed her headscarf which is mandatory under Iran’s strict Islamic dress codes Iran responded by issuing an arrest warrant against her

She then moved to Spain where she has been granted citizenship under ‘special circumstances’. “When all the things happened in Iran I thought that if I go to a tournament and I have to play with a headscarf I prefer not have to go at all. So I decided to to it this time without the headscarf.”

“I was told to record some video saying that I regret what I did. You know it has happened to others before as well. For me it was like I had to say that I was under pressure doing it and I didn’t send a video. They told me if I didn’t do that you can’t go back, but I didn’t want to do it, so that’s when I realized maybe it’s not possible to go back.

Laws enforcing mandatory hijab-wearing became a flashpoint during the unrest that swept Iran in 2022 after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in the custody of the morality police

“The way they are ruling the country is very strict way and you don’t see very much democracy happening in the country and there is lots of mismanagement going on and there is lots of corruption. Unfortunately this is what they have done to the country that is rich in many aspects.”

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – Reuters)