This U.S. chess champion is missing the world contest in Iran to protest country's hijab policy

One female chess player is protesting Iran's hijab laws by missing the world tournament.

Nazi Paikidze-Barnes is the reigning U.S. women's chess champion. But she won't be going to the Women's World Championship being held there in February.

She explained her decision on Friday in a Facebook post in which she called the World Chess Federation's decision to have the contest in Tehran "unacceptable."

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"I think it's unacceptable to host a WOMEN'S World Championship in a place where women do not have basic fundamental rights and are treated as second-class citizens," she wrote on the site.

Earlier in the week, she had said on Twitter that her decision was "for many reasons."

Paikidze-Barnes also spoke about her decision with Masih Alinejad of My Stealthy Freedom, an online campaign where Iranian women post themselves not wearing the hijab.

"Some consider a hijab part of culture. But I know that a lot of Iranian women are bravely protesting this forced law daily and risking a lot by doing so," she told Alinejad. "That's why I will not wear a hijab and support women's oppression. Even if it means missing one of the most important competitions of my career."

But Paikidze-Barnes isn't the only chess player to speak out. Former Pan American champion Carla Heredia said all 64 players in the Tehran competition should protest, in an interview with CNN.

"This is not only about 64 players, this is a world issue, a women's rights issue," she said. "That's why I'm speaking up. Sports should be free of this type of discrimination."

Heredia also spoke with My Stealthy Freedom, saying it is the personal choice of a woman whether or not to wear a hijab.

However, FIDE's Commission for Women's Chess has not received any other complaints about the issue, the commission's chair, Susan Polger, told CNN. She also said the organization would handle any complaints "professionally and diplomatically."

She also said that, personally, she wouldn't mind having to wear a hijab out of respect for a country's culture.