An Iranian student strips to protest against the strict hijab dress code

A university student in Tehran stripped down to her underwear in an act of protest after campus security officers harassed her over her hijab.

Videos circulating widely on social media show an unidentified female student sitting outside the campus in her underwear while being surrounded by security guards.

Another video shows her walking around campus in a bra and panties while stunned other students film her on their cell phones.

Her act of resistance began after a confrontation at Azad University’s science and research center on Saturday, when security forces physically attacked a student because she was not wearing a headscarf.

According to an Iranian student social media news channel, Amir Kabir’s newsletter and witnesses who spoke to The Telegraph, in response to her clothes being torn, she decided to take off her remaining clothes in protest.

Multiple witnesses confirmed her subsequent arrest by the authorities. The video shows security officers abducting her from the campus.

The officers forcibly detain the student

The video recorded about 10 security guards forcibly pushing the young woman into the vehicle. The video shows how a group of officers overpowered her before she was detained.

“Oh God, how many of them attack just one person?” – he heard the voice of one of the onlookers. “I can’t believe what I’m seeing,” said another.

“Around noon, near the entrance to the department, I saw a girl being grabbed and taken away by force by security forces,” one witness from Tehran told The Telegraph.

“She wasn’t wearing a scarf. They then reached the security building near the entrance, where a security guard and a man grabbed her and tried to forcefully take her to the office.

“She resisted and her hoodie was ripped off her body, this made her very angry and she took off the rest of her clothes.

“Furious at them, she screamed and took off her pants – she sat outside the campus for several minutes and the officer became more aggressive.

“I didn’t see much, but a few minutes after she started walking, several plainclothes officers attacked her and forced her into a car.”

Student media reported that she suffered injuries during her arrest, including a severe head injury after being struck by a vehicle. Witnesses claim that there were traces of blood at the scene.

#GirlScience and Research

The footage has been widely disseminated in Iran, and the student has already become a powerful symbol of resistance, attracting nationwide attention under the hashtag: “Girl of Science and Research.”

“If courage had a face,” one of the users posted a photo of a girl on X. “This brave girl is my leader,” another user wrote.

Amir Mahjoub, the university’s director of public relations, said she had been transferred to a “police station” and said she was under “serious mental stress and suffering from mental disorders.”

The university-affiliated newspaper Farhikhtegan also said, citing “official and unofficial sources,” that the student had “serious mental and psychological problems.”

The report added that after being handed over to the police by university security, she was committed to a psychiatric hospital.

Whereabouts and condition unknown

There is no further information on her whereabouts or condition.

Amnesty International called on Iranian authorities to release the girl “immediately and unconditionally.”

This is not the first time that officials and media linked to the Islamic Republic have accused protesters of “mental disorders” and forcibly committed them to mental institutions. The protest refers to previous acts of civil disobedience, including: Vida Movahed, called “The Girl from Enghelab Street”.

This show of defiance gained international attention in 2017 when a woman removed her headscarf and held it aloft on the tip of a stick while standing in protest against the mandatory hijab.

Observers noted similarities between the demonstrations, viewing them as pivotal moments in Iranian women’s ongoing fight for personal freedoms.

After September 2022 death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Aminiand subsequent protests, Iranian universities also faced increased repression and increased scrutiny. Protests led to acts civil disobedience of Iranian women and girls against compulsory hijab.

New, more stringent regulations

All women in Iran must cover their hair with a scarf and wear loose pants under a coat in public places, but an increasing number of Iranian women appear in public without covering their heads.

Iranian police and security forces have already done this have stepped up enforcement. A new bill that has been introduced in Iran’s parliament is intended to tighten rules governing how women and men dress in public places, but authorities have begun enforcing it before formal approval.

Section 50 of the law states that any person caught “naked, half-naked or wearing clothes considered inappropriate in public places” will be immediately arrested and handed over to judicial authorities.

The law also introduces gender segregation in a wide range of places, including universities, hospitals, educational and administrative centers, parks and tourist facilities.

People who break the new regulations will also be banned from leaving the country and using social media for a period of six months to two years.

“These girls are going to rock it one day Ayatollah Ali KhameneiIran’s future belongs to free women, not to mullah” – a student from Tehran told The Telegraph.

“Many women will remember her as a hero,” she said of the girl who protested Saturday. “After the fall of this regime, her photo will be all over Iran, as will the photo of Mahsa Amin and many others.”

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.