Iranian competitive climber Elnaz Rekabi caused a stir after forgetting her hijab during the final rock climbing event in Seoul, South Korea.
RELATED: Mahsa Amini: Why protests in Iran have gained international attention
An Iranian competitive climber left South Korea on Tuesday after competing at an event in which she climbed without her nation’s mandatory headscarf covering, authorities said. Farsi-language media outside of Iran warned she may have been forced to leave early by Iranian officials and could face arrest back home, which Tehran quickly denied.
The decision by Elnaz Rekabi, a multiple medalist in competitions, to forgo the headscarf, or hijab, came as protests sparked by the Sept. 16 death in custody of a 22-year-old woman have entered a fifth week. Mahsa Amini was detained by the country’s morality police over her clothing.
» Subscribe to USA TODAY:
» Watch more on this and other topics from USA TODAY:
» USA TODAY delivers current local and national news, sports, entertainment, finance, technology, and more through award-winning journalism, photos, videos and VR.
#southkorea #climbing #iran
Yep, probably got lots of death threats, of course it’s the best to say it was an accident. She is still brave ❤️
🤲🤲🤲🤲🤲🤲