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Young Iranian chess grandmaster expelled from national team for not wearing hijab

Feb 22, 2017 1:49 pm By Christine Douglass-Williams

Dorsa Derakhshani is part of a new and growing movement within some Sharia states that is daring to challenge the brute strictures of Sharia, including the inferior status of women. The hijab is, of course, a symbol of that oppression and by law in the Islamic Republic of Iran, women must wear it.

The head of Iran’s Chess Federation, Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh, was quoted as saying the Chess Federation will deal with the siblings in the “severest way possible.”

“The first step in dealing with them would be to deprive them from playing in Iran, and they won’t have a chance to be in the national team,” Pahlevanzadeh said, Azerbaijani news outlet Trend News Agency reported

“Young Iranian chess grandmaster expelled from national team for not wearing hijab,” RT News, February 21, 2017:

Iran has banned 18-year-old chess grandmaster Dorsa Derakhshani from competing for the national chess team for not wearing a hijab – obligatory dress for women under Iranian law.

Derakhshani was expelled for not covering her hair with the garment – compulsory wear for women since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 – while competing as an independent player in the 2017 Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival.

Her brother Borna, 15, has also been banned after competing against Israeli player Alexander Huzman in the same tournament.

The siblings have subsequently been precluded from competing in future international competitions for the Islamic Republic. Dorsa obtained her International Master and Woman Grandmaster titles last year and currently lives in Barcelona, Spain, after taking up the offer of a year’s residency.

The head of Iran’s Chess Federation, Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh, was quoted as saying the Chess Federation will deal with the siblings in the “severest way possible.”

“The first step in dealing with them would be to deprive them from playing in Iran, and they won’t have a chance to be in the national team,” Pahlevanzadeh said, Azerbaijani news outlet Trend News Agency reported.

Belgium-based Iranian gender discrimination activist Darya Safai tweeted a negative reaction about the move with the hashtag “forced hijab”

“Dorsa to me is the true feminist, not the Swedish government parading with the headscarf with [President of Iran Hassan] Rouhani,” Safai said in a Facebook post.

Safai was referring to members of the Swedish government – many of whom self-identify as feminists – who visited Iran in February.

The Swedish delegation received criticism from many observers who saw the move as a legitimization of an enforced law that violates women’s rights in Iran.

Under Iranian law, women are required to cover their hair and wear loose-fitting clothes when they appear in public and foreigners are obliged to dress modestly when entering the Islamic Republic for whatever length of time.

“By actually complying with the directives of the Islamic Republic, Western women legitimize the compulsory hijab law,” Masih Alinejad, CEO of human rights group UN Watch, wrote on Facebook.

It is the not the first time Iran’s insistence on female competitors to wear the hijab has caused controversy.

In September 2016, female players accused the World Chess Federation (FIDE) of failing to stand up for women’s rights after it said competitors must accept local law and wear hijabs during the world championship in Tehran, Iran.

Female grandmasters risked arrest if they did not cover their hair during the tournament…….

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Filed Under: Featured, Iran, Sharia, women's rights in Islam Tagged With: Dorsa Derakhshani


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Comments

  1. miriamrove says

    Feb 22, 2017 at 2:37 pm

    Yet raping and sodomizing 9 year old is fully sanctioned. m

    • Bamaguje says

      Feb 22, 2017 at 6:51 pm

      Dorsa is such a gorgeous chick… a defiant beauty with brains. Can Trump offer her asylum?
      Don’t expect the lamestream media and Leftist establishment – which pretend to care about women – to stand up for her.

      • Gwenie Mugliston says

        Feb 23, 2017 at 9:53 pm

        I would like to see and hear Trump come to the aid of this brilliant young woman and her also accomplished brother. How can we ask him to do that?

        My fear is that upon her return to Iran she will be murdered. Her brother may be also because of his association with her.

        • gravenimage says

          Feb 23, 2017 at 10:45 pm

          Gwenie, here is contact information for the White House:

          https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/write-or-call

          All Americans–hey, all good concerned people–should write him about this. Your concerns are likely well-founded. I am worried about their safety, as well.

  2. Angemon says

    Feb 22, 2017 at 2:51 pm

    “Dorsa to me is the true feminist, not the Swedish government parading with the headscarf with [President of Iran Hassan] Rouhani,” Safai said in a Facebook post.

    Safai was referring to members of the Swedish government – many of whom self-identify as feminists – who visited Iran in February.

    As the young’ns said in my time: “sick burn” 😀

    • Stephen says

      Feb 23, 2017 at 12:30 am

      How do you vote this up? Pay attention Sweden!

  3. Bill says

    Feb 22, 2017 at 2:57 pm

    Dorsa is suffering from Islamophobia. Just ask any “feminist”, they will tell you so.

    • Guest says

      Feb 22, 2017 at 3:08 pm

      Bill, true feminists who just want equal rights and opportunities still exist. Clearly this chess player is one. I don’t let those headscarf-wearing Swedish idiots call themselves feminists. They are a** licking appeasers!

      • Bill says

        Feb 22, 2017 at 9:44 pm

        Yes, I saw the photos and read the articles about the Swedish “feminist” politicians and all I could think was they were a gaggle of bimbos lining up to please their next sugar daddy. But, that is what feminism has become.

        President Trump should invite her to the White House. Obama had that little aspiring terrorist “Clockboy” for a visit. Why not invite a real champion of civil rights?

  4. fred says

    Feb 22, 2017 at 3:11 pm

    Maybe she can borrow Lindsey Lohans

  5. Walter Sieruk says

    Feb 22, 2017 at 5:21 pm

    This Islamic oppression of females is more extreme in Iran then just forcing girls and women to wear a hijab. For example, what is called the “Iranian Revolution” turned out to be a hoax. Ayatollah Khomeini before achieving power in Iran in his lying and deceptions presented himself to the Iranian people as if he was someone who would be in power would give freedom to the people of Iran with any tyranny. The reality turned out to be just the opposite. As explained by a former Muslim as well as a man who took part in this Islamic “revolution “ ,who is now a Christian informs the reader of his book that “Prior to the Revolution no one ever imagined that other political parties would be suppressed under the rule of Ayatollah Khomeini. He had promised that all groups would have freedom to run their own campaigns after the Revolution. He even stated that governing system would be based on the decision of the people via a referendum. He never spoke of a system that would be governed by Islam. He even made clear that mullahs would not take part in any political activities, and that they would only be allowed to teach spirituality… Immediately after the Revolution, mullahs rushed into government offices to occupy the most important political l positions, making it difficult for the interim secular government to function … The mullah’s occupation of position was exactly the opposite to what the Ayatollah Khomeini had promised before the Revolution.”. [1] In other words, the insincere, disingenuous and outright lying Ayatollah Khomeini made many bogus promise he really had no intention of keeping. His lying deception worked, for he achieved great power in Iran.
    Furthermore, of the many heinously evils outcome s of that Islamic “revolution” is the extremely cruel, brutal and demonic misogyny of this hideous Islamic regime. Not only against women but even young girls. As explained by a former Iranian Revolutionary Guard member who defected to the West and how now lives in America his book also informs the reader about the malicious and murderous affront girls in Iran’s Evin prison which reads that those in power ,the “paraded teenage girls in front in front of me as they led them to their deaths. These girls were barely out of their childhood, barely old enough to think of themselves, much less form thoughts against the state. They knew nothing about the machinations of politics. They were innocent in every sense of the word and certainty innocent of trumped –up charges that led to their imprisonment. Yet they suffered fates too brutal for even the most vicious criminal. ..Their few remaining moments of life had been filled with the level of abuse that few can imagine…The author further states “They tortured and killed young girls, in God’s name and before their execution they raped them because they believed that if a girl dies virgin, she will go to heaven, and they wanted to deny them this reward.” [2] This is as malice -filled and viciously wicked as can possibly be. This, very much, reflects the Wisdom found in the Bible which in Proverbs 15:15. For it reads “All the days of the oppressed are wretched. “ and likewise Proverbs 29:2. Which teaches “When the wicked rule, the people groan. “ [N.I.V.]
    [1] ISLAM : THE HOUSE I LEFT BEHIND by Daniel Shayesteh . Pages 90, 91
    [2] A TIME TO BETRAY by Reza Kahlili. Pages 2,3. 117.

    • gravenimage says

      Feb 22, 2017 at 8:16 pm

      Yes–these girls were “married” to their guards and raped by them. And the the prison would send a candy bar or some cheap plastic trinket to the family as “dowry”–a taunt so they would know the girl was raped before being executed.

      I really respect this girl’s bravery, but fear for her future.

    • Oliver says

      Feb 22, 2017 at 11:58 pm

      Islamic national guards not Iranian. Although all or almost all of that shit are Iranians

      • gravenimage says

        Feb 23, 2017 at 10:59 pm

        Oliver, why would you think the Mullahs are using non-Iranians as prison guards? Besides, their actions are clearly condoned by the state.

  6. American-Pragmatism says

    Feb 22, 2017 at 5:57 pm

    A great woman!

  7. Robeaver says

    Feb 22, 2017 at 6:19 pm

    Follow her in the news, see if she survives.at least she fought. When will we??????

  8. Matthieu Baudin says

    Feb 22, 2017 at 8:08 pm

    Looks just great, doesn’t she? A real pioneer for human rights.

  9. gravenimage says

    Feb 22, 2017 at 8:08 pm

    Young Iranian chess grandmaster expelled from national team for not wearing hijab
    ………………..

    I applaud the courage of this young woman and her brother–but I also fear for them. They need our support.

  10. mortimer says

    Feb 22, 2017 at 9:20 pm

    God bless and protect Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh.

    The IRANIAN GOVERNMENT WILL PAY DEARLY IN THEIR PROPAGANDA WAR IF THEY TOUCH HER!

    The WORLD IS WATCHING.

    Hands OFF of Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh!

  11. Dawn says

    Feb 22, 2017 at 9:56 pm

    Seems funny I have never seen a muslim in the Olympics without their headscarves because they aren’t made to take them off . But she doesn’t want to wear one and she not allowed in the chess tournament

  12. Oliver says

    Feb 23, 2017 at 12:01 am

    Does she have asylum in Spain
    Where is her brother

    Was he banned because of her.

    Where are the parents. Or are they already dead or imprisoned

    • gravenimage says

      Feb 23, 2017 at 10:49 pm

      Her brother is also in trouble for treating Israelis like human beings. I am concerned for them both.

  13. Westman says

    Feb 23, 2017 at 3:08 am

    Well, Spain, here is your chance to have another world player in Chess. You can be certain this woman brings no Jihad notions. Let her trounce Iran in chess while Spain picks up the honors. It’s win-win.

  14. LB says

    Feb 23, 2017 at 3:13 am

    I hope this becomes a trend. Same thing happened with another female chess master — Nazi Paikidze, although she is from the US:

    https://www.jihadwatch.org/2016/10/us-chess-star-wont-go-to-championships-in-iran-i-will-not-wear-a-hijab

    Chess is a sports that requires a great deal of intellect (both chess-related and overall intelligence) and which stimulates critical thinking (unlike islam), so it’s no surprise that Dorsa found her Iranian society oppressive. This is something that cannot be said about all these leftist “feminists” because they simply do not use their brain at all.

    • gravenimage says

      Feb 23, 2017 at 10:56 pm

      Yes–Islam actually condemns chess. Here is one Hadith:

      Narrated Buraydah ibn al-Hasib
      Allah’s Apostle (peace be upon him) said: He who played chess is like one who dyed his hand with the flesh and blood of swine.

      –Sahih Muslim Hadith 5612

      Of course, the “Prophet” would hate anything that involves reasoned thought.

  15. TH says

    Feb 23, 2017 at 8:59 am

    The vast majority of Iranians under 35 have no time for the mullah regime nor for mosques. Trump could put the CIA to good use by supporting dissident groups and maybe even overturning the mullah regime. They want freedom and that is especially the case of educated women, but also young men. There is a real opportunity there. Obummer failed to do anything when the regime was in danger of falling in 2009. The mullahs even had a plane ready to take them into exile.

    • gravenimage says

      Feb 23, 2017 at 11:02 pm

      With all respect, TH, I have been hearing that Iran is poised to overthrow the Mullahs any moment now, and that all young people hate the Ayatollahs–yet, they have been in power for almost forty years now. I wish it were true–but I’ll believe it when I see it.

      I wish Iranians like this brave young girl and her brother were in the majority there–but I fear they are not.

    • carol says

      Feb 23, 2017 at 11:24 pm

      @TH
      I recently read that the situation is somewhat “tripartate” in Iran. The young probably do comprise more of the free-thinkers, as you say, but unless the “middle group” can be convinced to join them there is little chance for change.

      ;

  16. no_one says

    Feb 23, 2017 at 10:13 am

    What a pretty girl! I have a friend from Iran, not a practicing muslim (fled the regime) and he says that Iranian girls are prettier than the American ones. I always ask how he knows. Well at private parties they remove the hijabs. They rebel.

  17. Ver Auger says

    Feb 23, 2017 at 11:01 am

    This intelligent, beautiful, accomplished, proud and defiant young Persian woman represents the best hope for the future of her nation and the world. She and other apostates from the barbaric theocracy that dominates Iran should be granted refugee status in America. She has vetted herself by her bravery and righteousness.

  18. RickMT says

    Feb 23, 2017 at 2:08 pm

    This has been a great week for women and…. not the street urchin feminist screaming and yelling out of her Saul Alinsky comic book.

  19. Pal says

    Feb 23, 2017 at 4:28 pm

    https://twitter.com/SafaiDarya/status/833589249505128450
    https://twitter.com/potkazar/status/833432061235052545

  20. Rob says

    Feb 23, 2017 at 8:28 pm

    Courageous girl who knows her worth. I hope she is and her brother are given asylum in a safe country.

  21. somehistory says

    Feb 23, 2017 at 9:00 pm

    In that sick speech in Egypt in 2009, someone infamous said that women should be “free” to wear it.

    Nothing was said about being “free to not be made to wear it,” “free to choose not to wear it,” and be allowed to live free without wearing it.

    And so we see…women are “free” to wear it …although many ***pretend*** that white guys rip and tug and threaten those wearing it…when and where they want to, even when it has come about by lawsuit against companies with safety and hygiene in mind.

    And we see what happens when young women such as this young lady refuse to wear it, and her brother who plays with the Jews. They must be made to pay because they don’t want to wear it when they have been given the “freedom” to wear it.

  22. Stephen says

    Feb 24, 2017 at 1:45 am

    Just for the record. Did a search on Huffington Post on Dorsa Derakhshani. Came up empty.

  23. Peter Ross says

    Feb 24, 2017 at 1:23 pm

    So, all the remainv contestents donned, in protest, the aparel ‘accesory’ of female-dhhimmitude?

  24. Karina says

    Mar 5, 2017 at 8:24 pm

    The strange thing is, Iranians wanted an Islamic Fundamentalist country when they advocated for a revolution back in 1979.
    Although the woman in question was born after the revolution, I don’t get why Iranians want an Islamic country but are complaining that the rules are too strict. You can’t have it both ways.

    • Gwenie Mugliston says

      Mar 5, 2017 at 9:12 pm

      The people who voted for a stricter Islamic country are not the same ones who are young now and hear and see what people in other countries have in terms of freedoms. It is a shame how that is all turning out.

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