Iranian authorities forced athlete to apologize in hijab row, BBC reports
LONDON: An Iranian women who broke Iran’s strict hijab laws while competing at a climbing event in South Korea was forced to publicly apologize over the incident, the BBC reported.
In a statement this week after taking part in the competition without a headscarf, 33-year-old Elnaz Rekabi said her hijab had “fallen off inadvertently.”
But a source told the BBC that Rekabi’s family had been threatened by Iranian authorities after footage of the climber at the event went viral online.
![The decision by Elnaz Rekabi, a multiple medalist in competitions, to forgo the headscarf, or hijab, came as protests sparked by the Sept. 16 death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. (AFP) The decision by Elnaz Rekabi, a multiple medalist in competitions, to forgo the headscarf, or hijab, came as protests sparked by the Sept. 16 death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. (AFP)](https://www.arabnews.com/sites/default/files/2022/10/21/3502821-23609328.png)