A female college student was arrested in Iran this weekend after stripping down to her underwear and walking around campus in protest against being allegedly assaulted for not wearing a hijab.
A now-viral video captures the young woman in a bra and panties in the courtyard of Tehran’s Azad University. Later footage shows her being forcibly placed into a car by men and driven away.
The unidentified student was demonstrating against security forces who had torn her clothing while confronting her for not wearing a headscarf, which is mandated by Iranian law for all women in public, according to Iran International.
Following her protest, she was filmed sitting on a wall, with one man approaching her to make a phone call before casually walking away as confused students looked on.
A university representative stated, “Campus security intervened and handed the individual over to law enforcement authorities,” labeling the incident as “an indecent act by a student.”
An online student group alleged that the woman was also assaulted during her arrest by plainclothes security personnel, resulting in heavy bleeding after her head was reportedly struck against a pillar or the car door.
“Blood stains from the student were reportedly seen on the car’s tires,” the group claimed, according to Iran International. She was taken to a police station and later admitted to a mental health facility.
The protester, now an emblem of resistance against the Islamic Republic’s harsh treatment of those who defy its regulations, has garnered attention from a key UN official.
“I will be monitoring this incident closely, including the authorities’ response,” Mai Sato, the UN special rapporteur on human rights, wrote on X alongside a video of the incident.
Iranian law mandates that all women, regardless of their religion, wear headscarves in public. The government has intensified enforcement of these laws since 2022, following the death of Mahsa Amini while in custody for hijab violations, which triggered protests resulting in the deaths of over 550 individuals and thousands more arrests by security forces.
