Elnaz Rekabi competes without a hijab. Photo: AFP
New Delhi: Iranian athlete Elnaz Rekabi who made headlines for competing at an international event without a hijab received a hero’s welcome upon her return to Tehran on 19 October.
Rekabi took part in the Asian Sport Climbing Championships in Seoul on Sunday without a headscarf and was soon reported to be missing.
In the initial bouldering discipline her head was covered with a bandana but in the later lead climbing, scaling a high wall with a rope, she wore only a headband, the stream posted by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) showed.
This was in breach of the Islamic republic’s mandatory dress rules of compulsory headscarf for women which also apply to all female athletes, even when competing abroad.
The gesture came one month into protests in Iran over the death of Mahsa Amini, arrested by Tehran police for allegedly violating the dress rules, which have transformed into a movement against the obligatory hijab and the Islamic republic itself.
Supporters of the protests on social media described Rekabi as a “hero”, posting images of her climbing up the letters of the protest slogan “Woman. Life. Freedom.”
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.