Instead, she can’t return to Iran — there are arrest papers waiting for her, and she now lives in exile in southern Spain, with her husband and one-year-old son.
and i believe in miracles. and you can watch the full panorama programme, aftershock, on the bbc iplayer. an iranian chess player who removed her headscarf at an international tournament has told the bbc she has no regrets. living in exile in southern spain, sara khadem says it was the least she could do given the sacrifices protestors in iran were making. she says she hopes she will play for her country again. razia iqbal reports. sara khadem is 25 now but has been playing competitively since she was eight. chess was unbanned in iranjust before ayatollah khamenei s death and, in the decades after that, the country has become a chess powerhouse and sara khadem one of its biggest and most promising stars. in december last year she decided not to wear the compulsory
before ayatollah khamenei s death, and in the decades after that the country has become a chess powerhouse, and sara khadem one of its biggest and most promising stars. in december last year she decided not to wear the compulsory hijab when competing. her life has changed utterly, not least where she lives now on the spanish coast. chess is a game that requires a player to calculate their opponent s third orfourth move. 25 year old sara khadem has made a few calculations, but to remove her headscarf was the least she could do given what was happening in iran. but it was the right thing to do. that decision, though, has led to her exile and for now a life lived in a secret location. when i was playing in almaty there were many things going on in iran. and many young women, they were not wearing
but i still have had players getting up right into my face, players giving a little shove, which doesn t amount to an assault but it is still a red card offence in the context of the game. people are storming over to me, looking like they are going to. i have been lucky but i know a few referees who have been hit, kicked and all sorts. i have had threats before, people telling me that i better watch myself for the rest of the game if i know what s best, things along those lines. and plenty of other terms that i will not be repeating on live tv, but some can be pretty cruel. an iranian chess player who removed her headscarf at an international tournament has told the bbc she has no regrets. living in exile in southern spain, sara khadem says it was the least she could do, given the sacrifices protestors in iran were making. she says she hopes she ll play for her country again. razia iqbal reports.