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The female student who stripped down to her innerwear outside Tehran's Islamic Azad University to protest against Iran's strict dress code was detained by the Iranian authorities, CNN reported on Sunday.
According to CNN, citing Amnesty, the woman was "violently arrested" while protesting the "abusive enforcement" of the dress code at Tehran's Islamic Azad University. Reports indicate she had faced harassment from members of the Basij, a paramilitary group, who allegedly ripped her headscarf and tore her clothes. Videos circulating on social media, including one shared by Amnesty International, show the woman sitting in her innerwear with her hair uncovered, gesturing toward other students, many of whom were wearing headscarves. In another video, it was seen that she was walking down a street in the same state of undress until she was surrounded by men who forcibly put her into a car and drove away. Eyewitnesses cited by state-run Fars news agency claimed she undressed after being warned by two security personnel about her attire, CNN reported. Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, stated on X that she would be closely monitoring the situation, including the authorities' response, as reported by CNN. In Iran, wearing a hijab in public is mandatory for women under strict Islamic law enforced by the morality police, and violations can lead to severe consequences. Protests erupted across Iran in 2022 after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died while in custody for not properly wearing her headscarf. This led to a violent crackdown that resulted in hundreds of deaths, prompting many women to publicly remove their headscarves. Amnesty International called for the immediate release of the university student and demanded access to her family and legal counsel, highlighting the need for independent investigations into allegations of abuse during her arrest. "Allegations of beatings and sexual violence against her during the arrest need independent and impartial investigations... Those responsible must (be) held to account," it said in X. The university's spokesperson later noted that the student was experiencing significant mental distress and emphasised her family background to counter online speculation. (ANI)
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