Iranian top climber Elnaz Rekabi says she will return to her country together with her teammates. Her friends feared she would be missing after Sunday’s action, when she gained worldwide fame by competing in the Asian Championships without a hijab. She received a lot of support, but Tuesday on Instagram that it was not her intention to take off the hijab during the competition.
In the statement, 33-year-old Rekabi apologizes for “the concerns” she has caused. She suggests that it was not a deliberate move, but that she was summoned at an unexpected moment to climb the wall. She then did so with a headband and her hair in a ponytail. Images of the action went around the world, after which friends of Rekabi Sunday evening could no longer contact the climber. According to the BBC, her phone and passport were taken.
Rekabi’s friends feared sanctions from the Iranian regime, which forces women to cover their hair in public. In recent weeks, thousands of Iranians protested after the death of Masha Amini, who had been brutally arrested by the religious police for not wearing her headscarf according to Islamic dress codes. The police cracked down on those demonstrations, which also resulted in deaths.