Female chess players who make it to the world championship in Iran should be ready to adopt a new rule to play: They'll have to wear a hijab. And some players would rather not compete if they have to wear the religious head covering.
"Iran has hosted chess tournaments before and women were always forced to wear a hijab," Nazi Paikidze-Barnes, the current U.S. women's champion, explained to CNN. She plans to boycott the event. "I feel privileged to have qualified to represent the U.S. at the Women's World Chess Championship and to not be able to due to religious, sexist, and political issues is very disappointing."
Hijab is a head scarf traditionally worn by Muslim women. In Iran, Islamic codes of conduct such as women wearing hijab in public are strictly enforced.
Carla Heredia, a former Pan American champion who did not qualify for the tournament in Tehran, agreed with Paikidze-Barnes. "This is not only about 64 players [who qualified to compete in the tournament]; this is a world issue, a women's rights issue. That's why I'm speaking up. Sports should be free of this type of discrimination."
Meanwhile, according to a spokeswoman for the World Chess Federation, there were no objections to the locale from any of the 150 national chess federations, which includes the United States. Further, Iran was the only country that proposed to host the event.
"[The World Chess Federation is] reviewing all possible solutions for the players' comfort and will discuss all the issues with the organizers in Iran during meetings in the next few weeks," the spokeswoman said. She added that the organization has not yet received any complaints about the expected dress code from participants.
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