Sara Khadem: ‘The people of Iran have done their part, but they alone cannot resolve this situation’

Sara Khadem, 28, feels a moral obligation to speak out about what is happening in her country of origin, Iran, from her home in Andalusia, where she lives with her husband and a four-year-old son as a Spanish citizen since she refused to play wearing a headscarf at the World Rapid Chess Championship in Almaty (Kazakhstan) in December 2022. The horrific images sent to her, showing hundreds of corpses and the anguished cries of relatives who must pay to access them, prompt her to speak again (via video call) with EL PAÍS, which interviewed her in depth three years ago.

On January 12, the multi-award-winning Spanish writer David Uclés received an award from the Madrid-based chess club Ajedrez con Cabeza (Chess with a Purpose) for his metaphors about the Spanish Civil War and chess in his book La península de las casas vacías (The Peninsula of Empty Houses). “Pawns always lose,” the novelist summarizes. Three days earlier, Khadem had posted a position on Instagram with a bunch of white pawns covering two-thirds of the board and a few black pieces (without pawns) in one corner, representing the Tehran government.

Question. Will the Iranian pawns end up winning this game in a country where 60% of the population is aged under 30 and women barely occupy 7% of the seats in parliament, despite making up 60% of university students?

Answer. Although the current death toll is appalling (some sources report over 20,000 people killed, but it would be just as horrific if it were 500), I believe regime change will happen very soon. And there are many Iranians willing to invest if that happens. But we need more help from abroad; we must be heard. In previous protests, a bunch of pretty girls removing their veils were very appealing to the Western media. But what is happening now is mass murder against widespread protests across the country, and I don’t see that being discussed with the same intensity.

Q. What information have you been receiving from inside Iran?

A. The images of the corpses are horrifying. Although it’s illegal, citizens connected to the Starlink satellite system are using it to connect with friends or family who need to talk because the internet is down. It’s very important that people understand that this isn’t a protest caused by the U.S. and Israel, as is being claimed. That theory suits the government very well, as it allows them to claim the moral right to kill anyone. The root of the problem lies in the withdrawal of preferential exchange rates for basic necessities, which caused enormous price increases in bazaars and markets.

Q. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Is this applicable to Trump and Netanyahu in the case of Iran, despite what they have done in Venezuela and Gaza, respectively?

A. Yes. I understand that, from the outside, Trump’s actions in Venezuela are criticized because they violate international law. But I also imagine that many people within the country see it differently. The situation for Iranians is so horrific, with their lives in danger, that any solution is welcome. It’s not about Trump solving it, but about there being a solution. The key isn’t Trump, but the Iranian people.

Q. He has said he will intervene if protesters continue to be killed. But he has also made it clear that his interest in Venezuela is not democracy. Perhaps it isn’t in Iran either, and one can assume the same of Netanyahu.

A. What Trump said about Iran is the hope of the protesters. To talk at this point about the intentions of Trump or Netanyahu is to go in the wrong direction. They have killed a lot of people, and that is what must stop at all costs, above any other consideration. I have even read that going against the Islamic Republic is equivalent to being against Palestine, given that the current Iranian government supports that cause. But, as a Palestinian journalist says, a government that kills its own people cannot liberate other nations.

Q. Would the son of the last shah, Reza Pahlavi, who lives in the U.S., be a good solution?

A. I have never advocated for a specific alternative to the current regime because I am not a political activist. I see that some of the protesters are chanting Reza Pahlavi’s name; I don’t believe we need a monarchy, although he claims he has other plans for the next two or three years, and that he doesn’t want to be king, but rather that the people decide. But let’s not lose sight of what is truly essential: first, the regime must be changed, and then the people will vote for what they prefer.

Q. Are you afraid?

A. Not for me. My parents, other relatives, and friends are in Iran. But I fear that if these protests are unsuccessful, there will be even more victims because many of those detained will be executed. I always said that this was something the people of Iran had to do, and now they have done their part. Many people took to the streets, and many people have lost their lives. But it seems that the people alone cannot resolve this situation. Above all, I want to emphasize one point: the priority in this situation is not international politics, but human rights.

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