After drawing criticism, Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi says hijab fell off 'inadvertently'

Iranian athlete Elnaz Rekabi, who was hailed by anti-hijab protesters across the globe for not wearing a headscarf at a rock-climbing competition in South Korea, has now issued an apology for the defiant act on her social media handle.

Rekabi, who has over 2,77,000 followers on Instagram, penned down a note in Persian after reports of her disappearance circulated on the internet.

“Greetings to all dear and honorable Iranian compatriots, I am Alnaz Rekabi, with a history of twenty years as a member of the national mountaineering team,” she wrote, before apologising for not wearing a hijab at the IFSC Climbing Asian Championship in Seoul. She revealed that her “head covering inadvertently came off” during the finals of the competition due to "bad timing, and the unanticipated call for me to climb the wall.”

Rekabi further added that she was heading back to Iran with her team as per the schedule. According to Tasnim news agency, Rekabi’s brother said that she would "explain the details" of the situation at a news conference and will continue to take part in competitions while "wearing the shirt of the Iranian national team.”

Rekabi’s post came after an exclusive report by IranWire stated that she would be directly moved to a prison facility in Iran after she arrives at the country’s international airport for defying the Islamic Republic’s strict regime. Following this, the spokesperson of the UN Human Rights said that the organisation was "aware" of the athlete’s situation and that concerns were being brought to the attention of Iranian authorities, Iran International reported. 

“Women should never be prosecuted for what they wear. They should never be subjected to violations. We’ll be following this case very closely,” the UN said. 

Reports of Rekabi's disappearance emerged after Seoul competition

Earlier on Tuesday, reports of Rekabi’s disappearance in Seoul began to surface on the internet, days after she was lauded for ditching the hijab amid the public unrest in Iran due to Mahsa Amini’s death. According to Iran International News, the sportswoman’s passport was seized by Iranian authorities in Seoul. Moreover, friends of Rekabi told BBC’s Persian service that they had been unable to contact her since Sunday.

Dispelling reports of her disappearance on Tuesday, the Iranian embassy in Seoul wrote on Twitter: “Ms. Elnaz REKABI, departed from Seoul to Iran, early morning of October 18, 2022, along with the other members of the Team. The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in South Korea strongly denies all the fake, false news and disinformation regarding Ms. Elnaz REKABI.”