Worry Grows for Iranian Climber Who Competed Without Hijab

An Iranian competitive climber left South Korea on Tuesday after competing at an event in which she climbed without her nation’s mandatory headscarf covering, authorities said. Farsi-language media outside of Iran warned she may have been forced to leave early by Iranian officials and could face arrest back home, which officials quickly denied.⁠

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The decision by Elnaz Rekabi, multiple medalist in competitions, to forgo the headscarf, or hijab, came as protests sparked by the Sept. 16 death in custody of a 22-year-old woman have entered the fifth week. Mahsa Amini had been detained by the country’s morality police over her clothing.⁠

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The demonstrations, drawing school-age children, oil workers and others to the street in over 100 cities, represent the most serious challenge to Iran’s theocracy since the mass protests surrounding its disputed 2009 presidential election.⁠

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A later Instagram post on an account attributed to Rekabi described her not wearing a hijab as “unintentional,” though it wasn’t immediately clear whether she wrote the post or what condition she was in at the time. The Iranian government routinely pressures activists at home and abroad, often airing what rights groups describe as coerced confessions on state television.⁠