Calling on participants to respect “cultural differences”
The world’s top female chess players have reportedly been told they must wear hijabs if they wish to compete in next year’s world championships.
The next Women’s World Championships are due to be held in Tehran, Iran in March 2017 but several Grandmasters have threatened to boycott the tournament if female players are forced to conform to the country’s strict clothing laws.
Here’s an idea – don’t hold international championships and other contests in countries that do that. Saudi Arabia and Iran should be off that particular list.
Chess’ governing body, FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs), has come under criticism for its decision to host the tournament in Iran and was accused of failing to stand up for women’s rights.
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The body’s Commission for Women’s Chess defended the move, calling on participants to respect “cultural differences”.
No. No no no no. Never “respect” the kinds of “cultural differences” that entail unequal treatment of some people.
Also what about the “cultural differences” within Iran? It’s not as if the imposition of hijab is universally loved in Iran; it’s not as if there are no women who hate it and rebel against it as much as they can. What “cultural differences” exactly does the body’s Commission for Women’s Chess have in mind? Those of the theocrats as opposed to the population? That’s just saying “bow before power” – and it makes no sense in this context, which is the choice of venue.
US Women’s Champion Nazi Paikidze also expressed her frustration that she would “have to miss her first Women’s World Championship for many reasons” and tweeted a link to the US State Department’s warning about American citizens still being at heightened risk of arrest.
“I understand and respect cultural differences. But, failing to comply can lead to imprisonment and women’s rights are being severely restricted in general.”
Cultural differences are one thing and human rights are another. Human rights take precedence over cultural differences. If a cultural practice violates human rights, no one should “respect” it.
Having your life threatened is not a cultural difference. In fact it’s one of the few cultural similarities that we can’t get rid of.
Why doesn’t the chess group call on *Iran* to respect the cultural differences of its guests? The Western countries screamed in outrage when a few cities in France tried to ban the burkini, and their law courts overturned the ban. If chess players were ripping the hijab off of volunteers at the tournament, that would be disrespecting their cultural differences, but refusing to be forced into attire that is not respectful to them is simply standing up for themselves.
What this says to me is that FIDE doesn’t value the female players.
Does this mean men will be required to wear beards out of respect for cultural differences? And if not, why must women from diverse backgrounds be forced to wear a garment not part of their usual attire?
Texas answer to that is easy, of course. It’s all in that word – women.