Sara Khadem source by: twitter.com

According to media sources, an Iranian Woman chess player competed in an international event sans a hijab.

Since mid-September, when 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini died in morality police detention for “wrong dress,” Iran has been engulfed by anti-clerical protests.

In articles published on Monday, the Iranian news portals Khabarvarzeshi and Etemad claimed that Sara Khadem had taken part in the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, without wearing the hijab, a headscarf required by Iran’s stringent dress standards.

Both outlets posted pictures of her that seemed to show that she didn’t have a headscarf on during the tournament. Khabarvarzeshi also posted a picture of her wearing a headscarf, but she didn’t say if it was from the same event.

About tournament reports No Comment found on his instagram page.

The International Chess Federation ranks 1997-born Khadem at 804 in the world. The Dec. 25-30 event website named her as a Rapid and Blitz competitor.

Iranians from all walks of life have joined the protests, which are the greatest threat to Iran’s authority since 1979.

Women have removed and burned headscarves, and demonstrators have been encouraged by Iranian athletes’ support.

In October, Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi competed in South Korea without a headscarf, explaining she did it accidentally.

In November, an Iranian archer said she didn’t notice her hijab falling during an awards ceremony in Tehran. A video appeared to show her letting the headscarf fall, which many people thought was a sign of support for protesters.

In November, Iran’s deputy sports minister, Maryam Kazemipour, told state media that some Iranian female athletes had broken Islamic rules and then apologised for what they had done.

Several national sports teams haven’t sung their national anthem, including Iran before their first World Cup match. Before the second and third games, the team sang.

The Iranian government has taken strong action against the protests, which they call riots started by foreign enemies.

As of Thursday, 507 protesters, including 69 children, had been killed, according to the activist news agency HRANA. There have also been 66 deaths in the security forces.

State officials say that up to 300 people, including members of the security forces, have been killed.