A 12-year-old girl was forced to withdraw from a chess tournament in Putrajaya in Malaysia on April 14 because of her supposedly “improper” attire, reported Malaysian newspaper The Star on Friday.
The report quoted a Facebook post by the girl’s coach, Kaushal Khandhar. He wrote: “In the middle of Round 2, (without stopping the clocks), Chief Arbiter informs my student that the dress she wore was improper and have violated the dress code of the tournament. It was later informed (by Chief Arbiter) to my student and her mother, that the Tournament Director deemed my student’s dress to be ‘seductive’ and a ‘temptation from a certain angle far, far away’.”
Khandar added that the arbiter had conceded and apologised to the girl’s mother, but that the 12-year-old was not allowed to wear the dress because of the directive from the tournament director. The girl and her mother were then asked to buy suitable clothes from a nearby mall, but the shops had reportedly shut by then.
“My student’s mother called Tournament Director regarding this matter, initially he had replied that he was not aware of the situation but after a brief discussion, it was realized that he knew all the details on this incident prior to this phone call,” wrote Khandhar. “He promised to return the call upon discussion with Chief Arbiter, but this did not happen. He would further not answer or return any calls of my student’s mother.
This situation had led to the inevitable decision of withdrawal from the tournament all together.”
In a separate report by The Star, the girl’s mother, Chin Lai Wing, was quoted as saying, “My daughter was shocked after her game was interrupted by the chief arbiter”. She later added that she had not received a formal apology from the tournament director.
“From that point onwards, she said all she could think of was whether anyone was peeping (at her) throughout the game,” she said.
Datuk Heng Seai Kie, chairperson of the women’s wing of the Malaysian Chinese Association, condemned the incident: “Playing chess has nothing to do with dressing as it is a healthy activity, and from the photo, she was decently dressed. From a woman’s point of view, it is disgusting and frustrating to see that women are being ridiculed, bullied and victimised for silly reasons”.
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