"To most observers, nothing stood out about Dorsa Derakhshani last month when she competed at the Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival. The 18-year-old female grand master fared fine on the board, twice using the Four Knights defense, and looked like any other teenager you might see in the British territory that borders southern Spain.
But to the head of the Iranian Chess Federation, Derakhshani practically committed an act of treason.
Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh didn't have a problem with Derakhshani's play, but her headwear. Derakhshani wore a simple headband in her long hair, instead of a hijab, Iran's traditional headscarf, which became compulsory accessory for women after the 1979 revolution. As a result, Pahlevanzadeh announced Monday that Derakhshani would be kicked off the national team..."
Read the entire article @: Washington Post
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Le Pen Refuses Headscarf, Nixes Talks With Lebanon Cleric
"BEIRUT (AP) — France's far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen refused to don a headscarf for a meeting with Lebanon's top Sunni Muslim cleric on Tuesday and walked away from the scheduled appointment after a brief squabble at the entrance.
The debacle topped Le Pen's three-day visit to Lebanon, where she held her first campaign meeting with a head of state. It drew the focus to her strong support for secularism and a proposal in her presidential platform that promotes banishing headscarves and other obvious religious symbols in all public spaces..."
Read entire article @: Yahoo News
Thank you for taking a stance, for the rights of females around the world. I applaud you.
