Asian Kabaddi Championships: Male coach wears hijab to enter women's arena in Iran

New Delhi: Dorsa Derakhshani, a 19-year-old Iranian chess player, became centre of world attention last month after she joined the United States Chess Federation, months after learning that she was barred from playing for her homeland because she refused to wear a hijab.

Such are the demands of strict cultural norms in Iran. And in the latest episode, the male coach of the Thailand women's kabaddi team was forced to wear a hijab to enter the playing arena with his team during the just concluded Asian Kabaddi Championships 2017 in Gorgan, Iran.

Photographs of the coach attending the match wearing a hijab made their way to social media. Here is one post:

In other news from #Iran: The coach for Thailand Women’s Team had to wear (a sorta) Hijab, apparently to pretend he is a woman, in order to be allowed into the the arena & lead his team during the Asian Kabaddi Championship tournament in Gorgan. pic.twitter.com/oZTHqQDJ2y — Hadi Nili (@HadiNili) November 29, 2017

The tournament, featuring a total of 10 teams in either section – of men's and women's, witnessed India continuing their complete domination once again.

The Ajay Thakur-led men's team thrashed arch-rivals Pakistan 36-22 to lift the trophy, while women's team humbled South Korea 42-20 in the title clash.

It's worth noting that last year, India's top shooter Heena Sidhu pulled out of Asian Airgun Shooting Championship in Iran due to hijab rule for all women athletes.

Sidhu said that had said she was against "a woman made to do certain things while men are not."

For a change, a growing number of women in Iran are now refusing to wear the mandatory headscarf but women athletes are still required to turn up in hijabs.

Earlier this year, FIBA (The International Basketball Federation) representatives witnessed Iran's women basketball player in action in Tehran, in what many termed as a historic event. It was the first time, since the 1979 Revolution, that men watched a women's sport in person in Iran.

Representatives of the world governing body for basketball were assessing the practicality and safety of playing with headgear. FIBA finally lifted the long-standing ban on hijabs on October 1.