Iranian chess players Sara Khadem and Atousa Pourkashiyan compete in international tournament without hijab

Two Iranian women chess players have competed in an international tournament without a hijab.

Sara Khadem and Atousa Pourkashiyan, who are playing in the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, have followed other Iranian sportswomen in abandoning the headscarf.

Photographs published on the International Chess Federation’s Flickr feed show them with their hair showing and deep in concentration as they focus on a game.

There was no comment on either woman’s Instagram page.

The hijab, which is mandatory under Iran’s strict Islamic dress code, has become the focus of protests against the Iranian government.

The unrest followed the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, who died in custody in September after being arrested by Iran’s morality police for allegedly not wearing her hijab correctly.

Ms Amini’s cousin, Erfan Mortezaei, told Sky News she was “tortured and insulted” before she died.

Women have played a prominent role in the protests, removing and in some cases burning their headscarves.

In October, Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi competed in South Korea without a headscarf, later saying she had done so unintentionally.

In November, an Iranian archer said she did not notice her hijab falling during an awards ceremony in Tehran.

A video appeared to show her allowing the headscarf to drop in what was widely interpreted as support for protesters.

Ahead of Iran’s first match in the Qatar World Cup recently, defender Ehsan Hajsafi spoke in apparent support of anti-government protesters at home.

“They should know that we are with them. And we support them. And we sympathise with them regarding the conditions,” the AEK Athens player said.

“We have to accept the conditions in our country are not right and our people are not happy. We are here but it does not mean we should not be their voice or we should not respect them.”

The team did not sing the national anthem ahead of their first game, but did before the second and third.

Earlier this month, Iran’s attorney general said the morality police had been “closed”.