University student arrested in Iran after stripping to protest hijab

November 3 (UPI) — An Iranian university student has been arrested after reportedly shedding her clothes in protest against the Islamic regime’s strict dress code.

In the video, which is widely shared on the Internet, the woman is shown in her underwear with her head uncovered. She sits by the steps on the campus of Tehran’s Islamic Azad University, then gets up and walks with her arms crossed.

Iranian authorities should immediately and unconditionally release a university student who was brutally arrested on November 2 after she removed her clothes to protest the brutal use of the veil by security officers at the Islamic Azad University in Tehran. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/lI1JXYsgtm— Amnesty Iran (@AmnestyIran) November 2, 2024

Amir Majoub, the university’s director general of public relations, confirmed application online that the student was arrested on Saturday for committing an “indecent act.”

“The motivation and reasons for this student’s act are being investigated,” Mahjoub said.

He later stated that during questioning, the student told the police that she was “under severe mental pressure and had a mental disorder.”

Iran International with reference to the student group in Telegram, reported that the student stripped after security forces tore her clothes while harassing her for not wearing a headscarf.

Amnesty International, which also shared a video of the incident online, called on the Iranian authorities to release the unidentified woman “immediately” and without any conditions.

in statementIt said the woman was “brutally arrested” for her protest “against the brutal use of the veil by security personnel” at the university.

“Pending her release, the authorities must protect her from torture and other ill-treatment, as well as ensure access to her family and a lawyer,” the statement said. “The allegations of beating and sexual assault against her during her arrest require an independent and impartial investigation. The guilty must be brought to justice.”

Mai Sato, UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, said she was “closely following this incident, including the authorities’ response.”

The incident comes as Iran has stepped up its persecution of women, including mandating the veil in public, since at least April, according to the data. Amnesty InternationalUN, other similar organizations.

The so-called Noor Plan encourages, sanctions and condones human rights violations against women and girls for not complying with mandatory hijab laws, UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Iran said in the middle of September.

Repression is retribution for Woman, Life, Freedom protests bordering on rebellion that swept through Iran two years ago in response to the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in custody after being arrested for violating hijab laws.

According to UNDuring the first year of the protest, at least 551 people were killed, including 68 children and 49 women.