Elnaz Rekabi is not afraid. As a sport climber, the Iranian athlete climbs walls more than twenty meters high every day. But on Sunday, at the Asian Championships in South Korea, she did so in a way that required even more courage than usual. She climbed without a headscarf.

Rekabi, 33, entered the lead contest finals in action with a ponytail and headband, where she placed fourth.

“Historical” and “an incredible moment for Iranians,” it said on social media. The risk of their actions was heard in Iranian media. “It remains to be seen how the Ministry of Sports will react to this action,” Iranian newspaper Hamshahri wrote on Monday.

Since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Iranian women have been required to cover their hair with a headscarf in public and to wear long, loose-fitting clothing. Even when participating in sporting competitions.

“What is normal for almost all countries is an incredible moment for Iranians as women have been forced to cover their hair even when competing outside of Iran for 43 years,” tweeted a BBC correspondent in the region.

Protests erupted in Iran over a month ago following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. Morality police arrested her in Tehran for not wearing her headscarf in accordance with the Islamic dress code. Eyewitnesses said she was attacked after her arrest. Amini fell into a coma and died in hospital three days later.

Since then, thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets to demonstrate for more freedoms. Women across the country took off their headscarves and cut their hair in protest. Some of the protests were brutally suppressed.

Prominent Iranians, including some of the country’s top athletes, have spoken out in recent weeks against the violence used to quell the protests. Iranian star Serdar Azmoun, good for 40 goals in 62 caps for Iran and a Bayer Leverkusen forward, spoke out openly.

Hossein Mahini, the former Iranian footballer of Persepolis FC, was arrested for his support of anti-Islamic regime protests and was recently released on bail. Footballer Kaveh Rezaei, who previously played for Club Brugge, is jailed for openly supporting the uprising in his country. In late September, the Iran national football team wore black jackets without the logos of the Iran National Football Association ahead of a friendly match against Senegal.

The Iran protests declared: