According to local media reports, the Iranian chess player who sparked a stir by participating in an international match without the required headscarf (hijab) has made the decision to go to Spain out of fear of retaliation from the Islamic dictatorship.
The authorities saw Sara Khadem’s participation in the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships earlier this week in Kazakhstan without a headscarf as a sign of solidarity for women and anti-regime demonstrators in her native country.
According to sources cited by the Spanish newspaper El Pas on Thursday, the 25-year-old intends to live in Spain with her film director husband Ardeshir Ahmadi and their young child.
The couple owes an apartment in Spain, but their location was not revealed over fears of their safety, the source close to Khadem told the newspaper.
‘She is aware that her life would be in danger if she returned to Iran because she has been shown playing without a head covering in several photographs,’ the sources were quoted as saying.
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