In Iran, a student was arrested for stripping to protest against the dress code

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

The woman, who has not been identified, was chased by members of the Basij paramilitary group, who tore off her headscarf and clothes, at Tehran’s prestigious Islamic Azad University, according to reports from several media and social media channels outside the country. Iran.

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

According to Iran’s mandatory dress code, women must wear headscarves and loose clothing in public.

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

The footage appears to have been filmed by onlookers in a nearby building. Another video shows men in civilian clothes putting her in a car and taking her to an undisclosed location.

“Crying from the heart”

The Amir Kabir newsletter claimed that she was beaten during her arrest.

“Iranian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release a university student who was forcibly arrested after she removed her clothes to protest the brutal use of the veil by security forces,” Amnesty International said.

The London-based human rights group, which has documented allegations of ill-treatment of women in Iranian prisons in recent years, added: “Pending her release, the authorities must protect her from torture and other ill-treatment and provide her with access to family and a lawyer.”

It added that “allegations of beatings and sexual abuse against her during her arrest require an independent and impartial investigation.”

Iran’s conservative Fars news agency confirmed the incident in a report that published a heavily blurred photo of the student.

It said the student was wearing “inappropriate clothing” in class and “undressed” after being warned by guards to follow the dress code.

Citing “witnesses”, it is reported that the guards spoke “calmly” with the student and denied reports that their actions were aggressive.

Almost nationwide protests erupted in 2022 after a death in custody Mahsa Aminian Iranian Kurdish woman who was arrested for allegedly violating the dress code.

The protests, in which women defied taboos by removing headscarves and sometimes even burning them, died down in the face of a crackdown that left 551 protesters dead and thousands arrested.

“We must not leave each other alone,” wrote Katayoun Riahi, an actress who supported the protests, in an Instagram post expressing her support for the student.

Hossein Ronagi, a prominent Iranian activist who was jailed during the protests, posted on X to applaud the student’s “bravery” and described her act as “a cry from the bottom of his heart against the oppression that took life.” people, especially women.”

(AFP)