The family home of Elnaz Rekabi – an Iranian climber who had competed abroad with her hair uncovered – has reportedly been demolished.
A video showing the ruins of a house with sports medals on the ground began circulating this week. In these images we see Davood, the brother of Elnaz Rekabi – also a top athlete – crying. Anti-government activists have denounced an act of revenge against the sportswoman, although it is not clear when the images were shot.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency confirmed that the house had been destroyed, while claiming that it was because the family did not have a valid permit for its construction, and that the demolition had occurred before that the climber does not compete without a headscarf.
The 33-year-old, who broke Iran’s dress code during a climbing competition in South Korea, later said: “Due to bad timing and the unexpected call for me to climb , my headgear came off inadvertently”. An apology that later proved to be forced according to sources, with authorities threatening to seize the family’s property.
On her return, she was greeted as a hero by a crowd who came to welcome her at Tehran airport, where she appeared without a headscarf, her hair covered by a baseball cap and a hoodie.
The next day, she had met the Iranian Minister of Sports with the same clothes, which had led to believe that she had not returned home in the meantime. A source said at the time that Elnaz Rekabi had been held in a room in the Iranian National Olympic Committee building, with plainclothes officers present until she met the minister.