In a bold act of protest against Iran’s strict Islamic dress code, a female university student recently undressed in public on the campus of Tehran’s Islamic Azad University. A video circulating on social media, shared by Amnesty International, shows the student sitting in her underwear outside the university building. She can be seen waving to other students before walking around the campus, surrounded by predominantly female peers wearing headscarves.
Eyewitnesses reported that the protest was in response to harassment on campus by members of the Basij, a volunteer paramilitary group in Iran known for enforcing moral codes. Allegedly, Basij members tore off the woman’s headscarf and clothes before her protest. The student was later “violently arrested,” according to Amnesty International, sparking concern among human rights organizations.
State-run Fars news agency provided a different account, reporting that the student undressed after a calm discussion with campus security officers who warned her about dress code violations. Meanwhile, the university’s director of public relations claimed that the woman suffers from mental health issues, a common assertion made by authorities in cases of public dissent.
UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, Mai Sato, has expressed concerns over the situation, noting that the incident is under close monitoring. This incident has reignited discussions around Iran’s hijab laws, which mandate that women wear a headscarf in public, with potential severe consequences for non-compliance. Human rights advocates say this latest protest highlights the growing resistance among Iranian women to the country’s restrictive dress code and the harsh penalties they face for defiance.
