Chess master refuses to wear required saudi clothes, forfeits title

a reply to: Grambler

She was, like all female players, forced to wear the abaya until the championship governing body was able to convinced them to allow them to wear other clothes.

Either way, her protests have brought light to Saudi treatment of women. It’s a shame half a million westerners won’t march in support of her.

“I am going to lose two world champion titles, one by one,” she wrote on Facebook. “Just because I decided not to go to Saudi Arabia. Not to play by someone’s rules, not to wear abaya, not to be accompanied getting outside and altogether not to feel myself a secondary creature.”

originally posted by: LesMisanthrope
a reply to: Grambler

She was, like all female players, forced to wear the abaya until the championship governing body was able to convinced them to allow them to wear other clothes.

Either way, her protests have brought light to Saudi treatment of women. It’s a shame half a million westerners won’t march in support of her.

“I am going to lose two world champion titles, one by one,” she wrote on Facebook. “Just because I decided not to go to Saudi Arabia. Not to play by someone’s rules, not to wear abaya, not to be accompanied getting outside and altogether not to feel myself a secondary creature.”

I'm sure she will get a ton of support from feminists here in the US. Which I'm sure will lead to some marches or signs of support.

a reply to: MisterSpock

Just like the march in Hollywood, which I think garnered nearly a thousand protesters. It seems no one marches against real injustices anymore.

Yep...Money because they think they can buy respectability. The new head dude is going against the religious police and is trying to transform some of the Suni Wahhabi B.S. they are noted for... He will probably be assassinated before it is all over. Shame really for at least he is trying to make some positive cultural changes (women can drive, opening a movie theater out side some Prince's private theater room).. I did not know that Iranian clerics had also forbidden the game..so thanks for that.. I just chalk it up to the mentality of the cleric who said women should not swim in the sea or in any water where men might swim.. Bunch of perverted religious idiots of the worse kind as far as I am concerned. Yes I have been there and stayed for a year flying to all their garden spots.. Their Culture and religious beliefs; like I said very few would give them the time of day if they did not have money.

a reply to: LesMisanthrope

She was, like all female players, forced to wear the abaya until the championship governing body was able to convinced them to allow them to wear other clothes.

Source?

a reply to: Phage

The Saudis are believed to have paid $1.5m (£750,000) to host the championship for the first time. The sport’s governing body, Fide, had claimed a measure of success in persuading Saudi authorities to allow female competitors to compete in high-necked white blouses and blue or black trousers instead of full-body abayas.

www.theguardian.com...

a reply to: LesMisanthrope

Chess is a sport?

So, they were not forced to wear abayas. From November (she dropped out when? )
www.fide.com...

She did not drop out because of clothing requirements. But for some reason the OP says so.

a reply to: Phage

My op reflects what she said.

From your sources.

"[I decided] not to play by someone's rules, not to wear abaya, not to be accompanied getting outside, and altogether not to feel myself a secondary creature," she said in an emotional statement.

I guess your article lied about her saying this too though.

a reply to: Grambler

Not sure if this was mentioned yet in the thread, but chess is usually outlawed under Sharia Law because they believe it can lead to gambling. It's a major policy reversal for Saudi Arabia to hold a tournament like this. More than that, they threw 4x the normal amount of money at the organizers to get it, and they agreed to do so for three years.

Edit: It was mentioned, guess I should have read the whole thing before responding.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: MisterSpock

There are separate competitions. Often the case.
Don't ask me why.

If you compare ELO scores, men score much higher than women in chess. The gap is narrowing, but most of the attention goes towards training men, so they have a massive competitive advantage.

a reply to: Grambler

I guess your article lied about her saying this too though.

I didn't say you, or your article lied. I said that the article you linked (and you) misrepresented her position in a petty manner.

Actually, abayas can be quite stylish and many western women have no problem with wearing them in public. But, as I said, I can understand why she declined to attend.
en-sa.namshi.com...

originally posted by: MisterSpock
"chess is "forbidden" in Islam because it wastes time and can lead to rivalry among players."

Seriously?

That seems a little ridiculous.

Bah, why do I expect anything from anyone any more.

Well hell dude, if you think that's a stupid reason for not doing something, we gotta get you familiar with Jehovah's Witnesses. I mean, they think a beard is a sign of a corrupted conscience. For F's sake, a beard. Pierced ears, too.
No Mother's Day or Father's Day because it turns people away from god. All holidays are just pagan and bad, even Christmas.
But obviously, something being seen as leading to rivalry or gambling by another religion is a bigger offense.
How about we just agree religions with asinine strings like the aforementioned are just plain dumb?

a reply to: Phage

I did not.

She is quoted saying she isn't going and she refused to wear the abaya.

My op nor the article in it misrepresented that.

You posted an article that listed additional complaints, I edited the op to reflect that.

Your complaints about my op are noted, just like they were in a different thread last night.

Thank you for your interest in my posts!

a reply to: Grambler

As far as this woman, kudos to her.

Ever heard the phrase, when in Rome do as the Romans do?

Me thinks your bigotry is showing again.

Shes not there to meddle in their internal affairs or change the National Sovereignty of the country, shes there to play chess !

Swallow your pride, observe their customs and just play chess. Or don't even show up. But no, must make this apolitical statement about other cultures. Love to see her go somewhere and stand up for something useful, like US backed Saudi Genocide in Yemen.

Only too obvious this is designed distraction to steer attention away from the millions of Yemenis who are in desperate need of food, drinking water and medicine.

a reply to: Grambler

My op nor the article in it misrepresented that.

Not after your edit any way. Before that it was all about the clothes. Including your headline.

This the chess player in the op with normal clothes and then one where they made her wear the head dress.

originally posted by: xenon129
This the chess player in the op with normal clothes and then one where they made her wear the head dress.

Perhaps she chose to do so because, apparently, it isn't required.

There will be no need to wear a hijab or abaya during the games, this will be a first for any sporting event in Saudi Arabia.

www.fide.com...


Oh, wait. The picture you posted has nothing to do with the tournament under discussion. Sorry.

The Women’s World Championship tournament was actually supposed to be held last October, but there were no bidders. During last September’s Chess Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijan, representatives of the Iranian Chess Federation offered to stage it in their country. One caveat was that Iran insisted that the women would have to observe local laws and play wearing the headscarves, a requirement that immediately brought protests from some players and others, including Emil Sutovsky, the president of the Association of Chess Professionals.

www.huffingtonpost.com...

But it seems she changed her mind and decided not to attend this tournament. That's interesting, but Iran is more liberal in regard to women, I think. A bit.
globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com...

a reply to: intrptr

You attacks of calling me a bigot are again unfounded and tiring.

If you chose to make excuses for countries that won't leave women wear what they want and walk in public unattended, that's your business.

I applaud this woman for her decision.

I hope you have a great day!

Why in the world would they have a tournament in SA in the first place?

Probably the money

The twisted perverse cult called Wahhabism, the West has supported even though it is the sole source of terrorism, because of Saudi gold.

Saudi and Israel aught to be boycotted by the entire world as they did to South Africa, both countries are an abomination

a reply to: xenon129

She actually looks more sexy to me with the head covering.