Iran threatens female players to wear hijab, exiled chess arbitrator says

In 2020, Shohrebayat made international headlines when he decided to take off his scarf at a chess tournament in Russia.

The fact that the chess arbiter (akin to a referee) is the first Iranian woman to hold the position of general secretary in any sports federation, and that she actually did so when the Iranian media said she was in violation. It didn’t matter that I was wearing a scarf. dress code of the country.

Today, Bayat lives in the UK and says the regime continues to employ the same tactics abroad to scare and intimidate athletes into wearing headscarves.

“I think they’re using nasty tactics. First they blame you, then they attack you with a cyber army, and then they pressure your family,” she said. The National.

“They use whatever tactics they can.”

In December, the Iranian chess federation repeated a move made against female grandmaster Sarasadat Kademarshalye, who was also accused of not wearing a headscarf, with Bayat representing Iran. He said he had not participated in any international chess federation (FIDE) tournaments.

Khademalsharieh entered the Blitz Tournament in Kazakhstan without a headscarf.

The pro-government media also launched a campaign against Hademarshalier after images were published of him not wearing a headscarf, similar to Bayat’s case almost three years ago.

“In my case there was an official attack in the media, but now the regime is wiser.

Khademalsharieh’s full name hashtag is circulating on social media. In a related post, the chess grandmaster is seen with her husband, a well-known Iranian director whom people have accused of having “very close ties” with the Iranian regime.

Critics say Kademarshalier’s decision to move to Spain instead of returning to Iran after the Games was not because she feared retaliation for taking off her hijab, but because her family was “wealthy”. It has said.

Iran has seen nationwide protests for more than three months after 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian Masa Amini died in police custody after being detained by so-called “morality police” over a dress code. I’m here.

Since then, protesters have called for not only reform but the overthrow of the entire regime, chanting “women, life and freedom.”

bayat said The National The former president of the Iranian chess federation sent her a message as she showed up wearing a loose headscarf for the first match of a tournament in China.

“He told me to wear a proper hijab. He said my photo was in the media and it was not good.”

This is despite the fact that many Iranian women, like Bayat, wear scarves with their hair showing back and forth.

“I didn’t want to follow his instructions, so I pushed the scarf further back the next day.”

That’s when Bayat says he returned to his hotel room to find a phone full of messages from people about what he had done.

“Shortly after, I saw my father give an interview to state media. I knew he was being coerced. He said he would explain when I returned to Iran. ”

The interview remained online and was published by state media ISNA. In it, Bayat’s father told him that his daughter “respects the rules” of his country and said the chess federation “has no involvement” in the matter. He says he never spoke to his father during that time and didn’t ask him to say what he said to the media.

That was the moment, Bayat said, and she decided to take off her headscarf for the next round of the tournament and seek asylum in the UK. Hmm.

“I never went back to Iran because I think they will just execute me,” she said.

Bayat says her father has been fired from his job and cornered by security forces since the incident.

“My family had many issues that we weren’t ready to share,” she said.

For now, Bayat will continue to fight for women in Iran through her activist shows. I saw you wearing a T-shirt.

Iran has executed protesters on anti-government crimes and on other charges, including “Moharabeh” or enmity against God, and in some cases the death penalty.

Updated: Jan 3, 2023, 2:19 AM