Iran arrests female student who stripped to protest dress code

Iranian authorities on Saturday arrested a female student who staged a solo protest by stripping to her underwear in public. Reports indicate the action aimed to highlight the oppressive enforcement of Iran’s dress code, which mandates women to wear a headscarf and loose-fitting clothing in public.

Iranian authorities arrested a female student on Saturday after she staged a solo protest against harassment by stripping to her underwear outside her university, reports said.

The woman, who has not been identified, had been harassed inside Tehran’s prestigious Islamic Azad University by members of the Basij paramilitary force who ripped her headscarf and clothes, according to reports by several news outlets and social media channels outside Iran.

She then took off her clothes in protest and sat outside the university dressed in just her underwear before defiantly walking down the street to the astonishment of passers-by, videos posted on social media showed.

Under the mandatory dress code in Iran, women must wear a headscarf and loose-fitting clothes in public.

The footage, which was first posted by Iranian student social media channel the Amir Kabir newsletter, was published by numerous Persian-language outlets, including the Hengaw rights group and Iran Wire news website, as well as Amnesty International.

The footage appeared to have been shot by onlookers in a neighboring building. Another video showed her being bundled into a car by men in plain clothes and driven off to an undisclosed location.

‘Cry from the heart’

The Amir Kabir newsletter alleged that she was beaten during the arrest.

(AFP)