An Iranian woman was arrested after partially undressing on the campus of Tehran Islamic Azad University, reportedly as a protest against the country’s strict dress code. According to Amnesty Iran, this act followed her being physically harassed by security officers for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly.
Footage of the incident, captured by students from a classroom overlooking the campus, has been widely shared on the social media platform X, garnering significant attention and praise for the woman’s “boldness” and “courage.”
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The woman’s identity has not been disclosed. Amnesty Iran has called for her immediate and unconditional release, urging authorities to protect her from “torture and other ill-treatment” until she is freed, and to allow her access to both her family and a lawyer. They also demanded independent and impartial investigations into allegations of beatings and sexual violence during her arrest, emphasizing that those responsible should be held accountable.
Iran’s authorities must immediately & unconditionally release the university student who was violently arrested on 2 Nov after she removed her clothes in protest against abusive enforcement of compulsory veiling by security officials at Tehran's Islamic Azad University. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/lI1JXYsgtm
— Amnesty Iran (@AmnestyIran) November 2, 2024
Syed Amir Mahjoub, the university’s public relations director, stated that the student was handed over to the police by security personnel and denied any physical confrontation. He noted that preliminary findings indicate the woman has a psychological disorder and was under significant stress. Earlier reports suggested she was detained by intelligence agents and taken to an undisclosed location.
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A local newspaper linked to the university reported that the woman has since been transferred to a psychiatric hospital.
#Girl of Science and Research
The footage has been widely shared in Iran and the student has already become a powerful symbol of resistance, drawing nationwide attention under the hashtag: “Girl of Science and Research.”
“If courage had a face,” one user posted on X with the girl’s picture. “That brave girl is my leader,” another user wrote.
Amir Mahjoub, the director of public relations at the university, said that she was transferred to a “police station” and claimed that she is under “severe mental stress and suffering from psychological disorders”.
The Farhikhtegan newspaper, affiliated with the university, also claimed, citing “official and unofficial sources” that the student has “severe psychological and mental issues”.
The report added that, after being handed over to the police by university security staff, she has been hospitalised in a psychiatric facility.
New stricter laws
All women in Iran must conceal their hair with a headscarf and wear loose-fitting trousers under their coats while in public but a growing number of Iranian women have appeared in public without head coverings.
Iranian police and security forces have intensified their enforcement of the rules. A new bill making its way through Iran’s parliament is set to harden the regulations governing how women and men can dress in public, but authorities have started enforcing it before its formal approval.
Article 50 of the bill says anyone found “naked, semi-naked, or wearing clothing deemed improper in public” will be immediately arrested and handed over to judicial authorities.
The bill also implements gender segregation across a wide range of settings, including universities, hospitals, educational and administrative centres, parks and tourist sites.
People found in breach of the new rules also face a ban on leaving the country and using social media for a period of six months to two years.
“These girls will one day bring down Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s future belongs to free women, not the mullahs,” a Tehran student told The Telegraph.
“She’ll be remembered as a hero by many women,” she said of the girl who protested on Saturday. “After this regime falls, her picture will be everywhere in Iran, like Mahsa Amin’s and many more.”