The fate of a top Iranian female athlete was unclear Tuesday after she competed in an international rock-climbing competition in South Korea without wearing the head covering mandated by her country’s government.
Elnaz Rekabi received global headlines after she participated in the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Asian Championships in Seoul with her hair tied back in a ponytail, rather than a hijab.
Her decision was especially notable considering the women-led protests that continue to simmer across Iran following last month’s death of a young woman who had been detained for breaking the country’s strict hijab laws.
Rekabi, 33, is Iran’s top-ranked female climber, according to IFSC rankings. In the Seoul tournament, she reached the finals, finishing in fourth place in the combined boulder and lead category.
Following the seven-day tournament, which ended Sunday, Rekabi became unreachable, according to news reports. The news reports also quoted an “informed source” as saying her passport and cell phone were confiscated.
IranWire, a citizen journalist website that is highly critical of Iran’s government, later reported that Rekabi’s passport and cell phone were taken while she was at the Iranian embassy in Seoul, and that Rekabi was set to be transferred to Iran’s Evin Prison, which is known to hold political prisoners.
VOA could not confirm those reports. South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a VOA question about Rekabi’s whereabouts or fate.
Late Tuesday Seoul time, an Instagram account belonging to Rekabi posted an update allegedly written by the Iranian athlete, claiming her failure to wear a headscarf was “unintentional.” The message blamed the incident on “poor scheduling,” alleging she was called to climb “unexpectedly.” Rekabi is headed back to Iran with the team, the message added.
In a statement posted to Twitter, Iran’s embassy in Seoul said it “strongly denies all the fake, false news and disinformation regarding Ms. Elnaz REKABI.” The statement said Rekabi departed Seoul for Iran early Tuesday, along with other members of her team. According to the tournament website, the Iranian team consisted of at least four women and three men.
The Iranian embassy statement did not mention whether the team’s plane had already landed in Iran or whether Rekabi would face any punishment for failing to wear a head covering.
Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iranian women face prison terms or fines if they fail to wear a head covering in public, as dictated by the government’s strict interpretation of Islamic law.
During recent anti-government protests that have swept Iran, many women have ripped off their head scarves, in some cases even burning veils in public bonfires and dancing bare-headed in front of police.
Although Rekabi does not appear to have made any public comments about the protests, many online commentators praised her boldness in deciding to compete without a head covering.
“Very powerful statement,” tweeted London-based Iranian journalist Sima Sabet. “She might not be allowed to be part of national team again, or be punished but she showed the world how an Iranian woman looks like!”
“The utter insecurity and bankruptcy of a regime that is terrified of a woman's hair,” tweeted Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East correspondent for The Economist newspaper.
Rekabi joins a small list of Iranian women athletes who have refused to wear a head covering in overseas competitions.
In 2019, Sadaf Khadem became the first Iranian woman to fight in an official boxing match. She did so while wearing shorts and no head covering. She has since been in exile in France, where the fight was held, after Iranian authorities reportedly put out a warrant for her arrest.
