WARNING, GRAPHIC CONTENT: On November, a young woman carried out the demonstration outside of Tehran’s Islamic Azad University. She first perched on a wall in just her underwear before striding through a crowd.
A university student was “violently arrested” after staging a daring protest against Iran’s strict laws by stripping down.
The young woman conducted the demonstration outside of Tehran’s Islamic Azad University on November 2. She first perched on a wall in her underwear before striding through a crowd.
Under Iran’s stringent rules women are legally obliged to cover their heads with a hijab and typically don conservative dress to avoid the government’s feared ‘morality police’, often comprised of devout female supporters of the regime.
Amnesty Iran tweeted: “Iran’s authorities must immediately and unconditionally release the university student who was violently arrested on November 2 after she removed her clothes in protest against abusive enforcement of compulsory veiling by security officials at Tehran’s Islamic Azad University.”
The human rights body added: “Pending her release, authorities must protect her from torture and other ill-treatment and ensure access to family and lawyer.”
Amnesty Iran also called for rigorous inquiry into allegations that the student faced beatings and sexual abuse during her arrest, insisting: “Allegations of beatings and sexual violence against her during arrest need independent and impartial investigations. Those responsible must be held to account.”, reports the Mirror.
During a recent protest, there was yet another disturbing incident where Islamic Azad University’s public relations chief Amir Mahjoub divulged on social media: “Following an indecent act by a student at the science and research branch of the university, campus security intervened and handed the individual over to law enforcement authorities.”
He added: “The motives and underlying reasons for the student’s actions are currently under investigation.”
It’s reported during her arrest the woman may have been badly injured when security forces seized her off the street. According to an Iranian student opposition group the student “disrobed after being harassed for not wearing a headscarf and having her clothing torn by security forces”.
In the newsletter from the group Amir Kabir added that “bloodstains” were seen in the area and that it was thought the girl’s head had been struck by a car door or on a concrete pillar.
In 2022, Iranian woman Mahsa Amini’s death after being detained for ‘not wearing her hijab correctly’ ignited worldwide outrage, leading to a clash against oppressive regimes. This incident saw over 500 fatalities and 22,000 detentions in Iran.
