Teenage Iranian chess master banned from team for refusing to wear "hijab".

On the particular case at issue here, I should also mention that unless you are representing Iran in an official capacity, women in Iran often use scarfs in public that actually don't cover much of the hair at all. And, besides, the whole 'hijab' rules have spurred a new fashion industry in Iran and Iranian women have figured ways to be quite fashionable despite those rules.

The picture below is from an article discussing the controversy. In one picture (right), she is wearing her scarf the way it is quite typically worn in public by many women in Iran and, in another, she is not wearing the scarf at all.

 

I heard she wanted to play for the American team but she refused to pee on Trump.

 

To get into the national team, she needs to play by the rules. The hijab is like a national uniform for Iran to represent the country's culture. She can still compete at international chess events in private capacity.

 

the deluded right wing loved Malala:






they attacked Islam because of its repression towards females and the right also attacked liberals for defending Islam


but all that stopped the moment they learned that Malala is an avowed socialist:









There's your hero, right wingers. When she spoke the truth, now you hate her.


Such hypocrisy, as usual.

 

We could do the same in the US,
Iranian should be only allowed to enter US if they wear spandex and no hijab.

 

They do the same to America's Vets also. They only love them if they can exploit them.

 

What are you talking about?? The hijab rules in Iran don't prevent an 'opponent' seeing you. Heck, the way the scarf is worn in Iran, it doesn't even prevent the opponent even seeing your hair (which is the supposed requirement).


This is what wearing the hijab looks like for a female chess player, such as the player depicted above (Shirin Navabi, 3 time women chess champion in Iran).

The new fashion I alluded to, incidentally, looks along the following lines:

 

Oh so its not a bag over the head its just a scarf.
Silly me..all these beautiful islamic fashions....pft...are confusing me..
Still I suppose a scarf looks a little better than a letterbox....

 

I believe in the saying: when in Rome, do as the Romans do.

If the US laws required that all women -- not just those from Iran in your example - not wear a scarf/hijab, then that would be fine. And indeed that is what anyone entering the US from Iran would have to comply with. But the US doesn't have any such requirement, even if the overwhelming majority of Iranian women who travel to the US don't wear hijab anyway!

Iranian women, unlike the women in many of the countries with which you are allied to in this region (the most egregious example being Wahhabi Arabia but almost all the rest too, none on Trump's ban!), are not what you imagine them to be. The propaganda notwithstanding. I am married to one and even if I hate to admit it, I know who wears the proverbial pants in our household!

 

It's okay, It's not a reality yet,
There's no law prohibiting what to wear in the US unless if one wanted to cross dress (male/guy wearing bikinis or something), then better not to go to New York. You have a strict theocratic form of government there in Iran and I do believe that it's agreed by all Iranians, then as what you've said "When in Rome do as what Romans do" as a sign of respect.

There's really what they call a culture shock when doing some transnational events like this, I'm hopeful that Iran will also consider that the people that do come in for the event do have their own identities and tradition as well and should be considered if they allow to bring in other nationalities.

 

I saw earlier a ridiculous comment here suggesting Iranian women aren't allowed to drive! Confusing Iran with US ally Wahhabi Arabia.
Something like 30% of the motorists in Tehran are female drivers.


Some of them are even bus and cab drivers.



I should also mention that since women in Iran make up the majority of university students and graduates, they are also present at all levels in all professions Iran. They are surgeons, lawyers, dentists, engineers, CEOs and managers of major companies, entrepreneurs, politicians, policewomen, journalists, broadcasters, actresses etc.

Talking about actresses, here are pictures of some of the more famous Iranian women who work in Iranian cinema.


Leila Hatami, actress

Mahtab Keramati, actress

Taraneh Alidoosti, actress

Hanieh Tavasoli, actress

Mahnaz Afshar, actress

 

I know it seems crazy. But everyone has cultural, religious, and political rules & regulations. Would we allow someone to play in the nude? And what about all those signs in the USA, "No shoes, no shirt, no service". And it wasn't so long ago that high school students in the US that boys would be sent home if their hair was long, and girls would be sent home if their skirt was just above the knee. I have seen buildings in the US where there is no "13th. floor". It goes from 12 to 14. Now that is crazy!

The same question could be asked, "wear a scarf? WHY NOT? There are country women in Eastern Europe who wear scarves all the time. Orthodox Jewish women must hide their hair too. Catholic nuns cover their hair and no one complains. Buddhist monks and nuns shave their hair all-together. But yeah, I know requiring Muslim women to cover their hair seems primitive but what about everybody else?

 

I think it boils down to a "separation of church and state" issue, really. In the cases you mentioned, nearly all of them were rooted in individual, private religions or organizations. I do remember that about 50 years ago public schools used to enforce regulations about hair, skirt length, etc., but those have long since gone away.

Consider: if you choose to be member of a private religion where a priesthood dictates certain standards (of virtually any kind) that they feel are necessary to please their idea of "god", then that is a matter of private, individual choice -- not governmental dictate!

In this case with the female chess master, the idea is that at the national level, an avowed Islamic theocracy deliberately and tyrannically forbids participation by one of its citizens on a national team, purely for "religious" reasons. In Iran, obviously, that is not considered to be wrong. In nearly all the rest of the civilized world, it is considered to be archaic, cruel, and 'byzantine' -- like Islam itself!

 

You just gave 40% of Americans more reason to hate Iran.

 

I guess you don't understand our constitution. Freedom of religion.
The RW wants to shut down a religion due to some fanatics. Going against our constitutional rights.

 

Another 40% should love them. There are many here that don't believe in evolution. Being the earth and all is 6000 yrs old.

 

I think that we agree in the main, as you say "separation of church and state" being the key. However:
* You say, " ... Islamic theocracy deliberately and tyrannically forbids participation by one of its citizens on a national team, purely for religious reasons." But if there is no separation of church and state then this isn't really true, is it.
* You say, "In Iran, obviously, that is not considered to be wrong. In nearly all the rest of the civilized world, it is considered to be archaic, cruel ... " I really do not see that 'nearly all the rest of the civilized world' has anything to say about it. Furthermore, I think it is perhaps primitive to bring the term 'civilized' into the equation. Pornography - public sexual acts - violence in the cinema - are western norms .... but are they 'civilized'? We do not have the right to call simple dress codes (I stress SIMPLE ones) primitive.

 

What a delight that would be if one of your female relatives married a devout Muslim and made her wear a head covering, then brought her over to the Mid-East to be treated like a dog.

You either support women's rights or Islam, you can't support both. It is not possible.

 

You can spin it as you wish, to promote the agenda that you obviously feel fits your purposes. But while I don't support such decision, if the decision here was for 'purely' religious reasons, the captain of Iran's football (soccer) team wouldn't be a practicing Christian. The decision here is based on certain rules which apply regardless of someone's religious faith. Those rules are certainly rooted in religion (and culture), but so are many laws even in societies which do have varying degrees of separation of church and state. The difference here is that the cultural norm on attire in Iran isn't the same as the cultural norm in places that, for instance, forbid a woman to appear in public naked or which require that she cover her breasts. But there is no reason that the cultural norms elsewhere should be forced on other societies. Indeed, if there is a legitimate criticism of Iran's hijab rules, that criticism would be based on the fact that those rules are out of date and behind the actual cultural attitudes that exist in much of Iran at this time.

To be sure, the real issue, really, isn't that I find everything about Iran and which Iran does to my liking. But that I find the propaganda against Iran to be driven by ulterior motives. Otherwise, for all its faults, I do find it rather interesting that in Iran (a) there is far less interference in teaching science in Iran than you find among the religious right in the US; (b) there has been an undeniable improvement in women's actual status (based on every index and statistic, whether relating to education, work force participation, achievements, income disparity, life expectancy or whatever) under this theocracy; and (c) even if Iran didn't live up to the standards in the west as it relates to these issues, there are plenty of American allies in the region who have far worse records. And since those are US allies, whose governments are propped up by the US and whose practices are ones that attach to the US by association, the practices in those states would be the the ones anyone not driven by ulterior motives would focus on. Not the practices in a state whose citizens above all want you to mind your own business, regardless of whether they like or don't like something about their government.

 

https://www.researchgate.net/public...science_We're_ahead_of_Turkey_but_behind_Iran
Teach evolution, learn science: we’re ahead of Turkey, but behind Iran

 

And not just for the fact that Iran's theocracy doesn't interfere with teaching evolution. Iran theocracy also, until recently, handed out free contraceptives and sex education classes for women and had a family planning program that was hailed as a model, and approves a host of practices that the religious right in the US have trouble with. Here is another example:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/15/iran-at-forefront-of-stem-cell-research/
Iran at forefront of stem cell research

 

Why the worry? It's from a country that our Prez and supporters want banned from coming to this country.

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How about supporting each person and each country to live how they believe? Instead of forcing everyone to live like you think they should live.
If one doesn't like something, then ignore, teach a better way, or find another means. But don't force.

 

Women may be treated like "dogs" in several states allied to the US in the region, but not in Iran. In Iran, if you are sick and go to a doctor, it would be quite ordinary if your physician happens to be a women. Certainly, if you go to a dentist, you are as likely to find your dentist to be a woman as a man. If you are looking for a lawyer, it will be largely the same story. Now days, the same is becoming true in many other fields that were once dominated by men.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/amygut...-engineering-students-are-women/#4f5be1c44de1
Set To Take Over Tech: 70% Of Iran's Science And Engineering Students Are Women

 

I believe Social Justice Warrior such as yourself are all about forcing gun control, transgeder bathrooms, and many other causes. As long as the ideology and agenda fits what you want here in the US, you are for demanding all to comply with it.

What the savages do in Iran is up to them.

 

Iran makes me laugh!

https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/10/28/womens-rights-iran

It is my hope that the backward savages that run Iran learn respect for others in the modern world---especially the United States.

I don't believe Iran's rusty navy of small ships will want to take on our US Navy now that Trump is running things.