Women Chess Players Object to Wearing Hijab at World Tourney in Iran

“Iran has hosted chess tournaments before and women were always forced to wear a hijab,” Nazi Paikidze-Barnes, the current U.S. women’s champion, explained to CNN. She plans to boycott the event. “I feel privileged to have qualified to represent the U.S. at the Women’s World Chess Championship and to not be able to due to religious, sexist, and political issues is very disappointing.”