Who is Elnaz Rakibi?
Reka initially gained notoriety in 2016 when she became the first Iranian woman to participate in the Climbing World Cup on a full-time basis. The athlete admitted in an interview that she paid for her career despite battling gender inequality. Earning the bronze medal in 2021 made her the first Iranian woman to take home an award from the IFSC World Championships.
Elnaz Rekabi went missing
Elnaz Rekabi, an Iranian athlete, garnered attention last weekend for not donning a headscarf while participating at the Asian Championships of the International Federation of Sport Climbing in Seoul on Sunday. The 33-year-old was informed that she would become the second Iranian female athlete to defy the law requiring hijab wear in her nation. Recent rumors state that Rekabi has vanished after competing in the international climbing competition in Seoul, South Korea.
Reka’s pals have stated that they have been unable to reach the athlete since Sunday night, according to a report by the BBC. Despite the Iranian squad leaving South Korea on Monday morning, the development has occurred. Reka was transported to the Iranian embassy in Seoul following her event, according to the news outlet Iran Wire so that she could be flown to Iran with little inspection.
After demonstrations broke out in her native country, Rekabi decided not to wear a headscarf or hijab while competing in the competition. Protests are in full swing in Iran and throughout the world after Mahsa Amini, 22, died on September 16 while being held by the authorities. It was believed that Amini’s arrest by the Iranian police was caused by her attire. Rekabi departed Seoul on a morning flight on Tuesday, according to the Iranian Embassy in South Korea, according to an Associated Press story amid questions about his whereabouts. The BBC’s Persian service reported at the same time that Rekabi’s passport and the phone had been taken by Iranian authorities, according to an informed source. Rekabi, according to a different source called IranWire, will be sent to Tehran’s Evin Prison once she arrived in the nation.
Calls to the Iranian Embassy in Seoul were unanswered in the meantime till Tuesday. The Iranian Embassy in South Korea vehemently condemns all bogus, false news, and misinformation surrounding Ms. Elnaz REKABI in a tweet that clarifies the issue, saying that “Ms. Elnaz REKABI, left from Seoul to Iran, early morning of October 18, 2022, together with the other members of the Team.” Along with the tweet, the Embassy included a photo of Rekabi competing in Moscow in the past while covering her head with a scarf. During the Asia Championship finals of the International Federation of Sport Climbing on Sunday, Rekabi opted not to wear the hijab. Rekabi did, however, don a hijab during her early appearances in the seven-day climbing competition, according to the organizers. She was a member of the 11-person Iranian delegation to the competition, which also included three coaches and eight athletes.
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