A female student at a university in Tehran stripped down to her underwear in protest after being harassed by campus police because of her hijab.
Videos that have spread on social media show the unidentified student sitting outside the school wearing underwear while the security guards surrounded him.
Another video shows her walking around the school yard wearing a bra and clip-ons while other students are surprised and take pictures of her with their cell phones.
Her protest started after a dispute at the science and research center of Azad University on Saturday, when the security forces attacked the student because she was not wearing a headscarf.
In response to the tearing of her clothes, she chose to take off her remaining clothes as a protest, according to the Iranian students' social media news channel, Amir Kabir newsletter and witnesses who spoke to The Telegraph.
Several witnesses confirmed his subsequent arrest by the authorities. The video footage shows the guards abducting him from the school.
The police forcibly arrested the student
About 10 security guards were captured on video arresting the young woman in the car. The video shows a group of police beating him before he is arrested.
“Oh God, how many of them attack just one person?” one was heard speaking. “I can't believe what I'm seeing,” said another.
“At noon, near the entrance of the wing, I saw a girl being grabbed and forcibly taken away by the soldiers,” one of the witnesses told The Telegraph from Tehran.
“He was not wearing a scarf. They then arrived at the guard building near the gate where a male and female guard grabbed him and tried to force him into the office.
“He gave birth, his hoodie was torn, it made him very angry and he took off all his clothes.
“He yelled at them angrily and took off his pants – he sat outside the center for a few minutes and then the policeman got angry.
“I couldn't see much but, after a few minutes he started walking, many plainclothes policemen ambushed him and put him in the car.”
Student media sources reported that he suffered injuries during his arrest, including severe head injuries after being hit by a car. Eyewitnesses said traces of blood could be seen at the scene.
#Girl of Science and Research
The video has been widely shared in Iran and the student has already become a powerful symbol of resistance, drawing attention across the country under the hashtag: “Girl of Science and Research.”
“If only courage had a face,” one user wrote on X and a photo of a girl. “That brave girl is my leader,” another user wrote.
Amir Mahjoub, director of public relations at the university, said he was transferred to a “police station” and said he was “very mentally depressed and suffering from mental disorders”.
The Farhikhtegan newspaper, affiliated with the university, also said, citing “official and unofficial sources” that the student has “severe mental and psychological problems”.
The report added that, after being handed over to the police by university security personnel, he was admitted to a mental institution.
His whereabouts and condition are unknown
There was no further information on his whereabouts or condition.
Amnesty International called on the Iranian authorities to release the girl “immediately and unconditionally”.
This is not the first time that officials and media affiliated with the Islamic Republic have accused protesters of “mental disorder” and forcibly committed them to mental institutions. The protest coincides with previous acts of civil disobedience, especially that of Vida Movahed, known as “The Girl from Enghelab Street”.
That display of disrespect gained international attention in 2017 when a woman removed her headscarf and held it up on the head of a stick while standing against the mandatory hijab.
Observers have drawn parallels between these demonstrations, viewing them as important moments in the ongoing struggle of Iranian women for personal freedom.
After the September 2022 death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, and subsequent protests, Iranian universities have also faced heightened repression and tighter controls. The protests led to acts of civil disobedience by Iranian women and girls against the compulsory hijab.
Tough new rules
All women in Iran must cover their hair with a headscarf and wear loose pants under their coats when in public but an increasing number of Iranian women have gone out in public without a head covering.
Iranian police and security forces have stepped up enforcement. A new bill to enter Iran's parliament would tighten rules governing how women and men can dress in public, but authorities have begun enforcing it before it is officially approved.
Article 50 of the bill states that anyone found “naked, naked, or wearing clothing deemed inappropriate in public” will be immediately arrested and handed over to the judicial authorities.
The bill also applies gender segregation in many different settings, including universities, hospitals, educational and administrative institutions, parks and tourist areas.
People found violating the new laws also face bans from leaving the country and using social media for six months to two years.
“These girls will one day bring down Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the future of Iran belongs to free women, not mullahs,” a student in Tehran told The Telegraph.
“He will be remembered as a hero by many women,” he said of the girl who protested on Saturday. “After the fall of this regime, his image will be everywhere in Iran, like Mahsa Amin and many others.”
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