An Iranian chess player who moved to Spain in January after she competed without a hijab and had an arrest warrant issued against her at home has been granted Spanish citizenship, Spain said on Wednesday.

MADRID, July 26 (Reuters) - An Iranian chess player who moved to Spain in January after she competed without a hijab and had an arrest warrant issued against her at home has been granted Spanish citizenship, Spain said on Wednesday.

Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, better known as Sara Khadem, took part in the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships held in Kazakhstan in late December without the headscarf that is mandatory under Iran’s strict Islamic dress codes.

Laws enforcing mandatory hijab-wearing became a flashpoint during the unrest that swept Iran when a 22-year-old Iranian-Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, died in the custody of the morality police in mid-September.

The 26-year-old has told Reuters she had no regrets over her gesture in support of the protest movement against her country’s clerical leadership.

Spain’s official gazette said the cabinet approved granting Khadem citizenship on Tuesday “taking into account the special circumstances” of her case.

  • Sentrovasi
    -5•11 months ago

    Yeah, while I am happy for her and wish nothing but the best for her, is this really going to change anything back home? How many other women have the means and training to do what she did? I guess the one thing this does is highlight to the rest of the world how terrible things are in Iran, but I’m under no illusion that this is going to improve the lot of oppressed women in Iran. They might be even more restricted from attending overseas competitions.

    • Larvitar
      19•11 months ago

      I don’t know why she would be responsible for changing anything in Iran?

      She made a statement to highlight the atrocities in a terrible country and it put her in the crosshairs. This is the same thing as putting on your oxygen mask before you help others while on a plane.

      • Sentrovasi
        1•11 months ago

        She isn’t responsible, and I hope that was clear in my original statement. What I’m saying is agreeing with the sentiment in the original post that rather than lending support to the problems faced back home, it might conversely make things worse.

        It’s not her prerogative at all, just a sad observation.

    • QuokkaEnglish
      5•11 months ago

      If she stayed, would that change anything?

    • @glimse@lemmy.world
      2•11 months ago

      It’s not necessarily about what she specifically could do but it’s emblematic of the greater issue. Not the first intelligent person to never return to Iran due to the leadership and she won’t be the last