Watch: Iranian athlete Elnaz Rekabi receives hero's welcome upon her return to Tehran
Rekabi took part in the Asian Sport Climbing Championships in Seoul on 16 October without a headscarf
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.
This is how Iranians are welcoming #ElnazRekabi at 3:45 am in Tehran.
Khamenei once announced that for Iranian female athletes hijab is more important than medals.
By refusing forced hijab Elnaz humiliated Khamenei. #مهسا_امینی #الناز_رکابی
pic.twitter.com/CLOOhJ1Z1P— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) October 19, 2022
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."
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