Introduction

Sports climber Elnaz Rekabi has become the latest symbol of the anti-government protests, begun and led by women in Iran. She competed in the Asian Championships in South Korea with her hair uncovered, breaking Iran’s strict dress code requiring women to cover their hair with a hijab, or headscarf. Although Ms Rekabi later said her hijab had fallen off "inadvertently", the images had already gone viral. We hear from an Iranian female footballer who was in a similar position a few years ago and speak to a chess referee who took off her own headscarf during a tournament in 2020.