Iranian archer says she did not notice headscarf falling off

An Iranian archer has said she did not notice her hijab falling from her head during an awards ceremony in Tehran, after a video appeared to show her allowing the headscarf to drop in what was widely assumed to be a show of support for nationwide protests.
In a video posted on Instagram, Parmida Ghasemi said she had not noticed the hijab falling “due to wind and a lot of stress”.
“This led to reactions which caused some misunderstandings. My family and I have not, nor have ever had, any problem with the hijab. I wanted to apologise to the people, officials and my teammates,” she said, wearing a headscarf in the video.
Iran has been by swept protests since 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in the custody of morality police nearly two months ago after being detained for “inappropriate attire”.
Women have waved and burned headscarves – mandatory under Iran’s conservative dress codes – during the demonstrations that mark one of the boldest challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution.
Videos posted on social media purportedly showed Iran’s national basketball team refraining from singing the national anthem during a match with China in Tehran on Friday, after social media videos earlier this week showed the national water polo team also failing to sing it at a competition in Thailand.