Iranian Chess Player Who Releases Hijab When Competing Sara Khadem Gets Spanish Citizenship

Iranian chess player Sarasadat Khademalsharieh. (Twitter/@FIDE_chess)

Iranian officials who moved to Spain in January after competing without a hijab and obtaining an arrest warrant in their country, obtained Spanish citizenship according to a statement by the country's authorities.

Khademalsharieh's Sarasadat, better known as Sara Khadem, took part in the FIDE World Fast Chess and Lightning Chess Championship which was held in Kazakhstan at the end of last December without wearing a headscarf, which is an obligation under Iran's strict dress code.

Regulations requiring the use of the headscarf became a point of concern during the riots that hit Iran, when a woman of Iranian-Kurdi descent 22 years old, Mahsa Amini, died in a police custody of morality in mid-September.

The 26-year-old told Reuters she had no regrets for her attitude in supporting the protest movement against the leadership of ulama in her country.

Spain's official sheet said the cabinet approved the granting of citizenship to Khadem on Tuesday "considering special circumstances" of its case.

Earlier, Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez said he was inspired after his meeting with Khademalsharieh at his official residence, Moncloa Palace last January. According to him, demonstrations of courage by athletes such as Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, an Iranian chess player who competed without a hijab, contributed to a better world.

"How much I have learned today from a woman who inspired me," wrote Prime Minister Sanchez on Twitter, launching The National News.