An Iranian sport climber competed without her hijab in a nod to women-led protests in Tehran and elsewhere

Iran’s Elnaz Rekabi competes in 2019. MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images Women-led protests against Iran’s government and clothing policies have swept the Middle Eastern country. Elnaz Rekabi, an Iranian sport climber, competed in South Korea this weekend without wearing a hijab.

The move — an act of solidarity with protesters back home — will likely have fierce repercussions. As women-led protests rage on in Iran, one of the country’s elite athletes offered demonstrators a gesture of solidarity from half a world away. And it may have dire consequences.

Sport climber Elnaz Rekabi — who won a bronze medal at World Championships while representing Iran last year — competed at the International Federation of Sport Climbing’s Asian Championships this weekend in South Korea. But instead of suiting up for Sunday’s finals donning her customary hijab, the 33-year-old stepped to the wall with her hair completely visible to all. —Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) October 16, 2022Rekabi finished fourth in the event, but it was her defiant move that drew headlines from across the globe.

With Iran’s government mandating that all female athletes who compete outside of the country cover their heads while in public, Rekabi will almost certainly face repercussions if and when she returns home. She has not been reached for comment since her climb on Sunday. And as of Monday night Iran time, BBC News reported that “contact with her friends was cut off hours ago, and her passport and mobile phone were also taken.

“—BBC NEWS فارسی (@bbcpersian) October 17, 2022 The act of solidarity from the three-time Asian Championships medalist came as protests against the government — and, more specifically, its strict policies around dress — sweep the Middle Eastern nation she calls home. Women in Iran began burning their headscarves and cutting their hair to take a stand against compulsory veiling, which led to the death of Mahsa Amini in mid-September. The 22-year-old, who was visiting Tehran, was arrested by Iran’s morality police for failing to properly wear her headscarf in accordance with religious law.

Amini died just days after she was taken into custody, and while officials claim that she suffered a heart attack, her family insists that she was beaten. A photo of Mahsa Amini appears on the front page of a newspaper in Iran. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File PhotoViral images of the young woman laying unconscious in a hospital bed while bandaged and bleeding all but confirmed the latter explanation.

Sources at the hospital where she was treated have since stated that brain trauma — not a heart attack — caused Amini’s death.  Though the protests have since expanded to economic and other concerns with the Islamic Republic, the movement continues to center around Amini and women’s rights in the country. The government has cracked down hard on those demonstrating — leading to thousands of arrests and hundreds of deaths.

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