Iranian Female Boxing Champion Cancels Homecoming After Arrest Warrant Issued For Defying Islamic Dressing Laws

The first female Iranian boxer to participate in and win an international fight, Sadaf Khadem, is now looking to stay back in France after a warrant for her arrest was issued in her home country for not adhering to religious rules regarding clothing during her fight, reports The Guardian.

The young boxer is in Poitiers along with her trainer Mahyar Monshipour; they were expected to go back to Tehran following her victory in the bout against Anne Chauvin, but that seems to be unlikely now; Iranian laws require female athletes to dress as per Islamic laws.

“I was fighting in a legally approved match in France,” Khadem told L’Equipe, “but as I was wearing shorts and a T-shirt, which is completely normal in the eyes of the entire world, I confounded the rules of my country. I wasn’t wearing a hijab, I was coached by a man – some people take a dim view of this.”

The Iranian boxing federation denied any association with Khadem, stating that she was not an officially registered boxer in the country. However, it denied that she had been blocked from coming back or that she would face punishment upon her return.