Synopsis
A young woman at an Iranian university stripped to her underwear in protest against the country’s strict Islamic dress code. The incident, captured on video, has sparked debate on social media. While university officials claim she was under mental distress, some believe it was a deliberate act of defiance. The woman’s fate remains uncertain, with reports suggesting she may be transferred to a mental hospital.
A young woman stripped to her underwear at an Iranian university on Saturday, reportedly in protest against Iran’s strict Islamic dress code. The incident, captured on video, shows security guards detaining the woman at Islamic Azad University. University spokesperson Amir Mahjob stated on X that “at the police station, it was found that she was under severe mental pressure and had a mental disorder.”
The video has circulated widely on social media, with some users suggesting the woman’s actions were a deliberate protest. Lei La, a user on X, commented, “For most women, being in public in their underwear is one of their worst nightmares. This is a reaction to the authorities’ stubborn insistence on the mandatory hijab.”
The woman’s current condition remains unclear. The mass-circulation daily Hamshahri reported that “an informed source indicated the individual involved in this incident has severe mental health issues and, after further investigations, will most likely be sent to a mental hospital.”
This incident follows a series of protests in Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022. Amini, an Iranian Kurdish woman, died in the custody of the morality police for allegedly violating hijab rules. The protests saw women defying authorities by removing and, in some cases, burning their headscarves. The crackdown on these protests reportedly resulted in 551 deaths and thousands of arrests.
Amnesty International condemned the arrest, stating, “Iran’s authorities must immediately and unconditionally release the university student who was violently arrested after she removed her clothes in protest against abusive enforcement of compulsory veiling by security officials.” The rights group has documented alleged mistreatment of women in Iranian prisons and called for her protection.
Reports from various news outlets and social media channels outside Iran indicate that the woman had been harassed inside Tehran’s prestigious Islamic Azad University by members of the Basij paramilitary force, who ripped her headscarf and clothes. She then took off her clothes in protest and sat outside the university dressed in just her underwear before walking in the street, to the astonishment of passers-by.
Iran’s conservative Fars news agency confirmed the incident, publishing a picture with the student heavily blurred out. It said the student had worn “inappropriate clothes” in class and “stripped” after being warned by security guards to comply with the dress code. Citing “witnesses,” it said the security guards spoke “calmly” with the student and denied reports of aggressive action.
“We must not leave each other to stand alone,” wrote Katayoun Riahi, an actress who backed the protests, in a post on Instagram expressing support for the student. Hossein Ronaghi, a prominent Iranian activist who was jailed during the protests, hailed the “bravery” of the student in a post on X, describing her action as a “cry from the bottom of the heart against the oppression that has taken the life out of people, especially women.”