Iranian woman arrested for removing her clothes after being allegedly harassed over “improper hijab”

A woman in Iran was arrested for removing her clothes publicly at a university in protest of being allegedly harassed by security guards for not wearing a proper headscarf. The university administration declared the female student mentally unstable.

A video circulating on social media showed a scantily dressed woman outside the Islamic Azad University walking while speaking to her fellow students with her hair uncovered. She was later detained by several men who took her away in a car.

The Amir Kabir newsletter, an Iranian student social media channel, reported that the university's security guards allegedly "ripped her headscarf" and "tore her clothes."

Meanwhile, Iran's state-run Fars news agency reported that the woman removed her clothes after she was calmly informed about violations of the dress code by two security guards.

x.com

بررسی‌ها نشان می‌دهد ایشان بخاطر اختلال روانی، اقدام به فیلمبرداری از هم‌کلاسی‌ها‌ و استادش می‌کند که با اعتراض آنها روبرو می‌شود. موضوعی که مسبوق به سابقه بوده است. وی پس از اینکه با تذکر دانشجویان و حراست روبرو می‌شود‌ به سرعت خود را به حیاط می‌رساند و اقدام به هتک‌ حرمت می‌کند https://t.co/MXq2xX2KF3

— سید امیر محجوب (@s_amirmahjob) November 2, 2024

Spokesperson for the university, Amir Mahjob stated in a post on X that the woman was mentally unstable. "At the police station, it was found that she was under severe mental pressure and had a mental disorder."

However, Mahjob claimed, “allegations of beating and sexual violence against her during the arrest need independent and impartial investigations.”

“Student was a mother of two, separated from her husband,” CNN quoted Mahjob.

Amnesty International in Iran demanded an “immediate and unconditional” release of a woman. 

x.com

Iran’s authorities must immediately & unconditionally release the university student who was violently arrested on 2 Nov after she removed her clothes in protest against abusive enforcement of compulsory veiling by security officials at Tehran's Islamic Azad University. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/lI1JXYsgtm

— Amnesty Iran (@AmnestyIran) November 2, 2024

Iranian law demands, that all women, whether they are Muslim or not, wear headscarves in public, and the government has ramped up enforcement of such laws since 2022. 

However, several women defied authorities by discarding their veils after nationwide protests followed the death of a young Iranian Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of morality police in September 2022.

Human rights groups say more than 500 people were killed in those demonstrations and according to the Islamic Republic News Agency, over 20,000 people were arrested.