<p>The 2017 World Chess Championships will be held in Tehran, and Iran has told Fide (the chess governing body) that all female participants must wear a hijab. ;</p>
<p>Fide&rsquo;s Commission for Women&rsquo;s Chess submitted to Iran&rsquo;s demand without question, instructing all participants to respect &ldquo;cultural differences&rdquo; and follow the rules. ;</p>
<p>Since 1979, Iranian law has required that all women wear hijabs in public. This discriminatory rule is enforced by the nation&#8217;s &#8220;morality police,&#8221; and women who refuse to comply are subject to arrest, fines, and public scolding.  ; ;</p>
<p>Needless to say, the ;Grandmasters are outraged. Many have flat out refused to attend the 64-player tournament ;scheduled for February 2017. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;This violates all what sports means,&rdquo; argues Woman Grandmaster (WGM) Carla Heredia. &ldquo;Sports should be free of discrimination by sex, religion, and sexual orientation.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>Chairwoman Susan Polgar of Fide&rsquo;s Commission for Women&rsquo;s Chess continues to insist that players respect cultural differences:</p>
<p>&ldquo;I have traveled to nearly 60 countries,&rdquo; says Polgar. &ldquo;When I visited different places with different culture, I like to show my respect by dressing up in their traditional style of clothing. No one asked me to do it. I just do it out of respect&hellip; I personally would have no issues with wearing a head scarf as long as it is the same to all players.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>What Polgar doesn&rsquo;t seem to understand is that this isn&rsquo;t a game up dress up. This is Iran demanding that visitors participate in its blatant tradition of discrimination.</p>
<p>Fide has come under serious criticism for its blind acceptance of sexual discrimination; but in my opinion what is even more shocking is the organization&rsquo;s decision to hold the championships in Tehran, where female participants will likely be in danger no matter what they&rsquo;re wearing. ;</p>
<p><strong>Editor&#8217;s note:</strong> This is what happens to when you try to include such a oppressive regime in the civilized world. This was a huge mistake on the part of Fide, I would not be surprised if an alternate location were set up for chess champions, without Fide&#8217;s sanction.</p>