Remember – Episode Eleven: The Pawn Against Mandatory Hijab; Conversation with Mitra Hajizadehpour, Chess Champion

Martin Luther King, the leader of the American civil rights movement, has an important saying: "It is our moral duty to break unjust laws." This week's "Remember" could be a narrative about this very saying. It discusses the inexplicable moment when someone suddenly refuses to submit, makes a different decision, a decision against oppression, against lies, and against forgetfulness. Mitra Hajizadehpour, the Asian chess champion, grandmaster of chess in Iran, champion of chess in France, and holder of dozens of medals and honors as an athlete, is invited to narrate in the "Remember" series not because of her brilliant achievements in sports but because of her stance against oppression. She describes herself as a pawn or soldier that can move in a way that transforms into something better, something else: "I think I am a pawn or soldier because I have fought for my rights and to achieve my goals in life. I am a soldier, and as you know, a soldier can transform into any other piece when reaching the last rank. I can also become any other piece. It depends on the efforts I make to become a very valuable piece." This week in "Remember," we will share another inspiring and hopeful narrative of civil resistance. Our narrator this week is a globally recognized woman, a chess champion now residing in France, who took an unprecedented step against the oppression of women and the imposition of hijab by appearing without mandatory hijab in international competitions, forever banned from Iranian sports and returning to her homeland. She was banned but had a message that she loudly conveyed to the world: This government oppresses women. We do not want this hijab; we have never wanted it. I ask her to remember. It was at the international competitions in Russia that she first removed the mandatory hijab. Mitra Hajizadehpour: Yes, it was in 2019 at the World Championships in Russia. Why there? Why that competition? And how after years of participating in global sports with mandatory hijab did you make this decision? How long had you thought about this decision? Hajizadehpour: Well, I chose that competition firstly because it was a world championship, and I thought if it could circulate in the media, I could convey the voice of Iranian women, and women and Western countries could understand what our situation in Iran is like. As you mentioned, I traveled with the Iranian national team for years and participated in competitions, and this was not a decision I made there. Before that, I had also been invited to play in club competitions in France. I had been traveling back and forth to Iran, but I was mostly in France, and when I was in France, I had no hijab at all. I thought to myself that there was really no need to continue this hypocrisy! When we guessed that it might cause us trouble, we would put on the hijab, and when the cameras were off, we would take it off. I thought this was hypocrisy, and there was no need to follow these rules that I had never agreed with and to want to respect them. When I participated in these competitions, I saw girls my age, and as I grew up, I talked to them and connected with them, and I asked myself, "Why?" Why do I have to wear a hijab? Why am I following this? Just reaching that stage where you ask yourself why you are doing this is a hard task. The rest, in my opinion, is easier. That moment when you start to doubt is a significant part of the issue. Reaching this why and this stage of doubt, as you said, is very important, but there are many people who, for various reasons, including indifference despite opposing the current situation, might think, "What can my action as one person change? What power do we have? Now Mitra has removed the mandatory hijab in a global arena; what impact does that have?" With your experience today, what would you say to this group with this reasoning? Hajizadehpour: Well, this reasoning is definitely incorrect, and we have seen this in recent years. Because for years, Iranian women have been fighting for their basic rights. For achieving things that are no longer an issue here in the West, it is truly ridiculous, but Iranian women have been fighting for years, and we have seen that this struggle is yielding results. Many people's opinions have changed. Many have thought, "Why are we wearing hijabs?" and their views have completely reversed. When I was in Iran, whenever I did anything, everyone would say, "Do you really think this will yield results? Do you think you are doing something significant?" But I believe that all these social movements that have emerged are the result of those small bricks that everyone has laid. I think we all have a share in this, and those who have a loudspeaker and a platform that can influence people have a greater responsibility, but each of us is responsible for all these conditions and social movements. Even the smallest action can be significant because if one person sees it, it has an impact. We may not see the result immediately, and it takes time. No small action is without result. At that time, when I wrote that I no longer wanted to play a role in this farce, I thought I had contributed to the growth of this germ of the Islamic Republic that we have built; I saw myself sitting silently for years. For years, I went to competitions, was interviewed, and said it was the natural course of things, and I expressed opinions that I did not even agree with. I think all of this has an effect, anyway. Do you think, as a woman who reaches that moment, as Kant says, of enlightenment and suddenly asks herself why and decides, despite all the costs, to no longer be part of this great public lie, that Iranian families have played a significant role in establishing mandatory hijab and what the Islamic Republic wanted for women? Surely your family also had their concerns. Hajizadehpour: Well, yes, that is true. My family is a classic Iranian family, and they were afraid; it was more to protect me that they encouraged me to be conservative and continue the way things were, fearing I would step outside this framework. But the role of families is very, very important. I think the education that starts from those early years in schools is crucial. Every year there is a lesson called religious studies. Until you go to university, they constantly implant these ideas in your brain, and there are people who keep repeating them to you. You go outside, and you see these signs everywhere. These ideas have been ingrained in our minds for a long time, leading us to think that this is normal, and we do not ask ourselves why we are doing these things. With all this education, they have tried to turn everyone into their own "agent," someone who controls themselves, and our families think they are protecting their children, which is natural, but these have turned everyone into an "agent" who controls themselves and others. Many times you see that it is not even an Islamic Republic agent but ordinary people, but all this brainwashing and education has been done to turn ordinary people into their own agents. It is very important that we understand and at least if we are not helping to improve the situation, we do not become agents of the Islamic Republic. Exactly the same concept of auto-totalitarianism where you gradually impose suppression on yourself. Hajizadehpour: I remember, for example, we would be interviewed or taken to events, and I think in some places, no one forced us! Why was I doing those things? This was the result of all that repetition and brainwashing, and eventually, I realized that no, why should I do this? Well, before you removed the mandatory hijab as a national team player at a world competition, did you tell your family anything? And after you did this, what was their reaction? Hajizadehpour: Well, I did not consult with my family at all in this regard because I thought it was a personal decision, and after they found out, like everyone else, they were shocked, but at that moment when I was doing it, I thought it was neither a big deal nor important; I had just been waiting for years to do something like this. At first, they were not very happy; they were scared and thought this was not very valuable, and they thought, "Well, what is this piece of cloth that has bothered you so much? Now you cannot come back to us, was it worth it?" But over time, they understood the importance of this action. Well, what feeling did that piece of cloth give you, Mitra? Was it just a piece of cloth? Hajizadehpour: In reality, it was not just that piece of cloth. Wearing that piece of cloth really showed that you accepted many things. You accepted and did everything they told you. You agreed with everything. You had no problem with it. Therefore, it was not just a piece of cloth. With everything I saw in Iran and all the experiences I had, I thought accepting all these laws and putting on that piece of cloth was wrong. And all the events we are witnessing happening inside Iran, the arrests of women for mandatory hijab, the harassment of women, the government murder of Mahsa Amini and other protesting women, even schoolgirls protesting against mandatory hijab, these can also make a woman like you, who no longer lives in Iran, more determined in her decision, I think. Hajizadehpour: Well, anyway, it breaks your heart that in this age of technology and progress, we have to think about these issues. For years, journalists and all political prisoners spend their youth and lives in prisons. I really find it very painful and terrifying that someone dares to tell you how to dress in the present age; it is truly foolish and ridiculous, and it makes me angry and very sad. I have left Iran, and I do not see these things here. It is very good for me, and I am happy, but a part of me has remained in Iran, and when I see and hear these things, it really bothers me, and I think about it. I thought if I left Iran, I would have an easy life, but really, no! I think about all these issues, and what happens to Iranian women pains me, and the fact that my country has reached this state... all of this bothers me. Turning away from a dual existence. Mitra Hajizadehpour had brought pride to the Iranian national chess team for 18 years, and just hours after the news of her appearance without mandatory hijab at the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships hosted in Moscow was published, the head of the Islamic Republic's Chess Federation announced that this athlete "will no longer have a place in the national team." In Moscow, she not only faced her opponents but also confronted the government that has imposed hijab on Iranian women for over four decades. This was the first time a female athlete from the national team made such a choice, standing against the government and removing the imposed and false hijab in front of the world. She said: I could no longer be one of the actors in this entirely false show. News agencies close to the government immediately labeled her action as "deviant and unconventional." Hajizadehpour: When I entered Moscow, I no longer had a headscarf, and I was receiving messages telling me to wear the hijab because it would cause problems. I was getting messages like this, but it didn't matter to me, and I had made my decision. After that, as soon as the news spread in the media, the head of the federation gave an interview and said this has nothing to do with us and has never been with us (laughs), and from now on, she can never participate in the national team. How can they suddenly say that someone who has been a national team champion is now not part of this team? She does not exist? Hajizadehpour: Yes. They acted as if we had never sent her, and she was in France, and all this talk they do is just a routine they always follow when they see someone doing such a thing. It was not surprising. How were you in that situation? After all, you had thought about this decision beforehand and knew that if you removed the hijab in Russia, you would not be able to return to Iran. Had you said goodbye to Iran? What was your mental state? Hajizadehpour: No, I really had not said goodbye, and I thought I would return. I tried not to focus too much on the emotional aspects because I was worried that my decision might change. Regarding the consequences, I guessed what issues would arise and that I might not be able to return, but I had not properly said goodbye to my surroundings, but I tried not to focus too much on it. However, mentally, I was not very prepared. After all, I had been living in France. I had been traveling back and forth to Iran, but I was mostly in France.