Iranian Chess Player Withdrew Hijab Receives Citizenship In Spain

Spain said on Wednesday that an Iranian chess player who relocated to the country in January after competing without a hijab and receiving an arrest notice at home had been awarded Spanish citizenship.

Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, better known as Sara Khadem, competed in the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in Kazakhstan in late December without wearing the headscarf required by Iran’s strict Islamic dress standards.

When a 22-year-old Iranian-Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, died in the custody of morality police in mid-September, laws requiring mandatory hijab-wearing became a flashpoint during the upheaval that rocked Iran.

The 26-year-old had no regrets about her act in favor of the protest movement against her country’s ecclesiastical leadership.

The cabinet authorized granting Khadem citizenship on Tuesday, according to Spain’s official gazette, taking into account the special circumstances of her situation.

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