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MADRID, July 26 (Reuters) - An Iranian chess player who moved to Spain in January after she competed without a hijab and had an arrest warrant issued against her at home has been granted Spanish citizenship, Spain said on Wednesday.

Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, better known as Sara Khadem, took part in the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships held in Kazakhstan in late December without the headscarf that is mandatory under Iran's strict Islamic dress codes.

Laws enforcing mandatory hijab-wearing became a flashpoint during the unrest that swept Iran when a 22-year-old Iranian-Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, died in the custody of the morality police in mid-September.

The 26-year-old has told Reuters she had no regrets over her gesture in support of the protest movement against her country's clerical leadership.

Spain's official gazette said the cabinet approved granting Khadem citizenship on Tuesday "taking into account the special circumstances" of her case.

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[-] Crow@lemmy.world 207 points 1 year ago

I guess she’s a Spanish chess player now. And that’s how brain drain works.

[-] otl@lemmy.sdf.org 109 points 1 year ago

A very gifted programmer I met from Iran had to do the same. Originally from Iran, he wanted to marry a girl from Myanmar. This was forbidden for some reason so they said "fuck it, let's go to where there is loads of tech jobs". I was working in the Netherlands at the time when I met them. He's now flourishing in the open source software space over there. Brain drain 100%.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 20 points 1 year ago

Someone from Iran marrying someone from Myanmar in the Netherlands sounds like a movie musical... "Two oppressed people from different parts of the world find love in beautiful Amsterdam!"

[-] gro2bl@lemm.ee 9 points 1 year ago

Actually there is no problem to marry someone from a different country. The problem is you cannot marry with a non-muslim person, so he/she should accept Islam first. 😟😄 weird like many other rules! I don't know if other religions have such restrictions or not, I would be happy to hear if someone knows.

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[-] MarinaDiamandis@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago

Brain drain is one of those things that isn’t felt immediately, but over the course of months and years. Slow death :/

[-] Colorcodedresistor@lemm.ee 135 points 1 year ago

Imagine not being able to return 'home' because you took your hat off. 🤔

I hope her friends and family wont catch any retribution for her 'escaping' shitty islamic justice

[-] Carighan@lemmy.world 56 points 1 year ago

Imagine not being able to return ‘home’ because you took your hat off. 🤔

I never quite realized just how pedestrian taking the hijab off is, yeah. Never really thought about it. It is quite literally just taking your hat or well, head-scarf, off. It's like when my great-grandma came in from the rain and took that plastic headband off she always wore to keep her hair dry.

Ridiculous how backwards we as a species can be, and sadly often are. 😔

[-] okamiueru@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Is it too reductive to conclude this is just men wanting to be able to dictate what women should and shouldn't do? Anyone claiming otherwise, even women who "would gladly wear it" feels like Stockholm syndrome to me.

Maybe I'm wrong to think this, but alas, I do.

[-] Carighan@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

I don't think it's too reductive, considering religion as a whole is always about exercising control.

[-] CantSt0pPoppin@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago

Yeah the whole thing sucks just remember their are religious fanatics within all religions.

[-] OtakuAltair@lemm.ee 31 points 1 year ago

Fanatics and extremists exist regardless of religions. The latter just allows them to control people easier, and islam happens to be particularly good at that.

Of course, most 'religious' people have enough common sense to not follow them to the T. When the government is religious though, like islam encourages, you have a big problem

[-] Carighan@lemmy.world 23 points 1 year ago

Fanatics and extremists exist regardless of religions. The latter just allows them to control people easier, and islam happens to be particularly good at that.

This is more accurate.

It's not that "fanatics exist in all religions", it's "fanatics exist", and religions just give them a cover that is depending on society difficult to challenge as in many places, a religion's influence on society and rules is quite normalized, completely ignoring how ridiculous this influence is.

[-] kent_eh@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 year ago

it's "fanatics exist", and religions just give them a cover

It isn't much of a leap to understanding that religions have always served the purpose of controlling people.

When a leader has a tool that allows the people to think his pronouncements have the endorsement of a God, that leader is going to use that tool.

[-] oce@jlai.lu 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Islam isn't better at it than other religions it just happens to be the major religions in the countries where those fanatics managed to seize the power. You can find similar examples with Christianism (Europe, USA), Judaism (Israel), Hinduism (India), Buddhism (Myanmar) and probably many more.

[-] OtakuAltair@lemm.ee 11 points 1 year ago

Islam isn't better at it than other religions it just happens to be the major religions in the countries where those fanatics managed to seize the power

That's no coincidence imo.

I see all religions as negative, but Islam is the only one I can personally attest to, being an ex muslim. It's cult-y and tends to bring out the worst in people, more so than most religions from what I've seen.

[-] oce@jlai.lu 1 points 1 year ago

Your personal experience is not a good argument.

Here's a recent exemple of Hindu fanatics attacking Muslims: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Delhi_riots and another from Christian fanatics attacking the institutions of the USA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_6_United_States_Capitol_attack

[-] OtakuAltair@lemm.ee 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Let's not compare atrocities committed by religions; islam's would be never-ending if we did, as your comment also suggested.

I will add though that buddism's continued oppression of muslims in Myanmar is sickening, in addition to your examples

[-] oce@jlai.lu 1 points 1 year ago

Let’s not compare atrocities committed by religions

Isn't it what you do when singling out Islam ?

[-] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 1 year ago

If the poster hadn't specifically stated that they were commenting because that was their former religion, yes. But given the context, no.

[-] OtakuAltair@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago

Yup. I think the conclusion is obvious, as my comment indicates, so there's not much need to compare them here.

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[-] Aceticon@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

The problem is when a government is captured by religion.

There is nothing quite so bad as religious types getting power based purelly on being religious types.

I suspect that, because it's the most fanatical power-hungry types (Moralism is really just a way of justifying the forcing of others to your will) who both have the most motivation to seek positions were they can have free rain to really go on powertrips on other people, and display more overtly the very religiosity that is the whole reason for a government whose power is based on religion.

Certainly those who feel no need to impose their will on others and who can even *gasp* see some actions as overzealous, don't have anywhere the same drive, zealotry and backstabbing instincts to climb up the ladder in such power structures.

[-] CantSt0pPoppin@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

You are very right the same is being seen in the united states with Evangelical fanatics taking over all forms of government and a disturbing pace.

[-] Pons_Aelius@kbin.social 71 points 1 year ago

When this story appeared last year, my first thought was:"Well, I hope she plans on never going back to Iran"

Glad to see she is safe.

[-] CantSt0pPoppin@lemmy.world 19 points 1 year ago

You and me both so many young Iranians have not been so lucky. My heart breaks for them all.

[-] lemme_at_it@lemmy.world 25 points 1 year ago

4D move by Spain; even better than Bb5, aka the "Spanish opening" or Ruy Lopez.

[-] RetroEvolute@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Well, good. Hope things are smooth sailing from here!

[-] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 5 points 1 year ago

Hooray for Spain for the second time today. The other "hooray" was for standing against far-right movements.

[-] Blamemeta@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

And another person who couldv'e helped Iran move past its issues leaves.

[-] Steeve@lemmy.ca 31 points 1 year ago

First of all, if she went home she would've just been arrested, how does that help anyone? And second, why's it on her to move Iran past it's issues? Good on her for her brave protest and good on her for not going back and choosing to do more with her life than end up a martyr in an Iranian prison.

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[-] otl@lemmy.sdf.org 20 points 1 year ago

Sadly the impression I get, from when I've spoken with Iranians, is that the establishment don't see those things as issues to move past at all.

[-] Carighan@lemmy.world 18 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I would say it's the other way around.

The way to "help" Iran is for more people to leave. Significantly more, basically anybody with two brain cells to rub together. Leave only the most assinine idiots behind and then they can run their own country into the ground hardcore but they no longer affect anyone with it as everyone else has left.

Basically, Iran has to cease to exist in its current form. By burning itself out. This is incidentally the same way we could move past idiotic religious believes in the first place.

[-] Zengen@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

I would say that what you say makes sense but it doesn't really work super well in practice. I'll give the best example. North Korea. We have choked them on food, energy, medicine etc. For going on 70 years now. They are still a cancerous blight on the world. With nukes. Sure I guess the argument could be made that they stay inside north Korea and keep to themselves though.

[-] zouden@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

When does that ever work? Can you name some examples?

[-] steltek@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

The aptly named Arab Spring got pretty far, as those things go. Not perfect by any stretch, of course.

I'm struggling to think of alternatives that didn't involve foreign intention. Peaceful revolution is hard.

[-] SuddenDownpour@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

If the Irani government already intends to arrest her, her only avenue to "help Iran" was taking up arms. I think everyone here has enough brain cells to understand why you can't shame any random person for just not making that choice.

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this post was submitted on 27 Jul 2023
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