Iranian Athletics Federation head Hashem Seyami has resigned after women who did not wear the Islamic Republic’s obligatory headscarf took part in sporting events in the country’s south, state media reported.
“Hashem Seyami has resigned over controversy over the Shiraz endurance race,” IRNA reported on Sunday.
Siami confirmed in statements released to IRNA that the federation was not the organizer of the race and that there was no connection between the federation and the women who competed without the veil.
Footage broadcast by Iranian media showed several women without headscarves participating in the race, which took place on Friday.
The prosecutor of Fars province, which contains Shiraz, announced on Sunday that he would call the race organizers for “clarifications”.
The incident comes less than a month after Iranian police announced that starting in mid-April, they would begin to tighten enforcement of mandatory veil laws in Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and to identify and punish those who violated them.
Protests have taken place in Iran in recent months following the death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, on September 16 after she was arrested by Tehran’s vice police for failing to follow a strict dress code.
After the protests broke out, women could be seen walking around without hijabs in Tehran and other cities without any police action or notice.
However, authorities have repeatedly stressed that the laws require mandatory veiling and that they will punish those who abstain from doing so.
Source: AFP.
