A female Iranian climber who competed with her hair uncovered did so because her hijab fell off “inadvertently”, a post on her Instagram account says.
Elnaz Rekabi, 33, was praised by those protesting against Iran’s dress code after video showed her violating it at the Asian Championships in South Korea.
BBC Persian reported on Monday that friends had been unable to contact her.
On Tuesday, the Instagram post apologised for “getting everybody worried” and said she was flying home.
“Due to bad timing, and the unanticipated call for me to climb the wall, my head covering inadvertently came off,” it explained.
The post added that she was on her way back to Iran “alongside the team based on the pre-arranged schedule”.
BBC Persian’s Rana Rahimpour says that to many people the language used in this post looks like it has been written under duress.
Other Iranian women who have competed abroad without wearing a headscarf in the past have said they came under pressure from Iranian authorities to issue similar apologies, she adds. Some of them decided not to go back to Iran.
Women in the country are required to cover their hair with a hijab and their arms and legs with loose clothing. Female athletes must also abide by the dress code when they are officially representing Iran in competitions abroad.
