An Iranian female competitive Climber Elnaz Rekabi left South Korea Tuesday after competing at an event in which she climbed without hijab.
Elnaz Rekabi : Missing | Hijab | Apologies | Instagram
Elnaz Rekabi ( born 20 August 1989) is an Iranian sport climber.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Name | Elnaz Rekabi |
| Born | 20 August 1989 Zanjan, Iran |
| Sport | |
| Country | Iran |
| Sport | Sport climbing |
She participated at the 2021 IFSC Climbing World Championships, being awarded the bronze medal in the women’s combined event.
| Representing Iran | ||
|---|---|---|
| Women’s sport climbing | ||
| World Championships | ||
| Bronze | 2021 Moscow | Combined |
| Asian Championships | ||
| Silver | 2013 Tehran | Bouldering |
| Bronze | 2014 Lombok | Lead |
| Bronze | 2016 Duyun | Speed relay |
In 2022, she participated in the 2022 IFSC Climbing Asian Championships where she finished fourth. Notably, she appeared without Iran’s mandatory headscarf.
Elnaz Rekabi Missing
On 18 October 2022, two days after the competition, Rekabi was reported missing. The event occurred while the Mahsa Amini protests were ongoing.
Iranian rock climber Elnaz Rekabi who represented her country at an international event in South Korea without wearing a hijab headed home Tuesday morning amid fears that she would get prosecuted upon her arrival in Tehran.
Ms Rekabi, 33, in open defiance against the Iranian regime, took part in the Asian Sport Climbing Championships in Seoul on Sunday without a headscarf and was soon reported to be missing.
According to the Telegraph (UK), Ms Rekabi’s friends were unable to contact her since Sunday. The BBC, quoting “well-informed sources”, claimed that her passport and mobile phone were confiscated.
Ms Rekabi finished fourth in the climbing championships but her decision to not wear a hijab, seen as a sign of protest against the Iranian regime, was broadcast across the world.
The Iranian embassy in South Korea strongly condemned the “misinformation” surrounding Ms Rekabi.
Hijab
A female Iranian climber who competed with her hair uncovered did so because her hijab fell off “inadvertently”, a post on her Instagram account says.
Elnaz Rekabi, 33, was praised by those protesting against Iran’s dress code after video emerged of her at the Asian Championships in South Korea on Sunday.
BBC Persian reported on Monday that friends had been unable to contact her.
On Tuesday, the Instagram post apologised for “getting everybody worried” and said she was flying home.
The post added that she was on her way back to Iran “alongside the team based on the pre-arranged schedule”.
Her brother was also quoted by the hard-line Tasnim news agency as saying she would “explain the details” at a news conference, and that she would continue to compete “wearing the shirt of the Iranian national team”.
Elnaz rekabi apologies
Professional rock climber says head covering ‘inadvertently faced a problem’ after she was unexpectedly called to compete ahead of schedule in Seoul tournament.
In a story published on her Instagram account on Tuesday, professional rock climber Elnaz Rekabi apologised for the “worries that I caused”.
The statement posted to Rekabi’s 240,000 followers said her head covering “inadvertently faced a problem” after she was unexpectedly called to compete ahead of schedule in the finals of the sport’s Asian Championships in South Korea’s capital, Seoul.
Rekabi had made headlines on Monday when she competed with her hair uncovered and tied back in a ponytail – seemingly defying Iran’s decades-long mandatory hijab rules.
Taking off the hijab is illegal for women in Iran and punishable by law.
The 33-year-old finished fourth, but clips of her scaling a wall during the competition without a head covering – but dressed in the Iranian team’s attire that fully covered her body, and also sporting a black headband – were shared on social media thousands of times.
Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi, who is said to have defied the Islamic regime by competing in a tournament without her hijab, has apparently posted an apology on social media.
In a statement on Instagram, Ms Rekabi said not wearing the headscarf had happened “unintentionally” and that she was travelling back to Iran with the rest of her team.
“I apologise about what I did to make you worry,” she wrote. “There was poor scheduling and I was called her to climb unpredictably.”
The apology came amid claims she would be arrested on her return to Iran and that family members has been detained by police.