When one of the world’s most promising chess players, 25-year-old Sara Khadem, decided to play in an international tournament without a headscarf in solidarity with the protest movement in Iran, she thought a warning would be the worst thing that could happen to her.
Instead, she cannot return to Iran, where arrest warrants await her, and she now lives in exile in southern Spain with her husband and one-year-old son.
She and her family asked that her exact whereabouts not be released; they worry that there could be repercussions even thousands of miles away from Iran.
Women in Iran are required to wear headscarves in public, even when abroad. But some choose not to, supporting the women and girls who have led protests across the country since the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September. One of them, climber Elnaz Rekabi, was forced to withdraw and it is unclear what her situation is now that she has returned to Iran.
Sarah Khadem said her decision to play in a tournament in Kazakhstan last December without a headscarf was a slow process. The participants wore them only in front of the cameras, and she considered it hypocritical. Considering the sacrifices made by women and girls on the streets of Iran, some of them risking their lives, it was the least she could do, she said.
Did she think of joining the demonstrators herself? “Yes, of course,” she replied. But her young son Sam held her back. She said: “I have a duty to him and I thought maybe I could use my influence in other ways.”
Sarah Khadem has been playing chess since she was eight years old. This is not the first time she has violated the Islamic Republic’s strict code of conduct.
In 2020, a Ukrainian plane that took off from Tehran airport was shot down by what appeared to be the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, killing 176 people. It took three days before the authorities admitted their mistake. Ms. Khadem announced on social media that she plans to leave the national team. She did not mention the flight, but she was forced to sign a confession that she had nothing political in mind for her position.
The next time she went to the airport, her passport was taken away. She thought her career was over.
Now that her life has completely changed, does she have any regrets? Without hesitation she said no. “I miss my family, but I wouldn’t say I regret this decision. I still represent Iran, I am Iranian, and the people of Iran still perceive me as Iranian.”
I was impressed that she does not consider herself a politician, although she admits that there is a lot of politics in Iran. She said: “I’m not an activist and I don’t have any messages for people who are taking that much risk. The people protesting in the streets inspire me and many others.”
Her husband, Ardeshir Ahmadi, is a filmmaker and Internet show host who also had first-hand experience of being on the wrong side of the Islamic Republic. A hip-hop documentary led to him being beaten and jailed for three months. The decision that led to their expulsion was a joint one.
She was able to stay in Spain thanks to the golden visa rule, which allows anyone who buys a property worth half a million euros (£442,000; $536,000) to get a residence permit.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez invited Sara Khadem to meet with him. The day seemed bitter.
“It was on that day that an arrest warrant was issued at my home. So I had mixed feelings: I was appreciated in this country, but in my country, where you have achieved great success, you get arrest papers.”
