A female student at a university in Tehran stripped to her underwear in an act of protest after being harassed by campus security officers over her hijab.
Videos circulating widely on social media show the unidentified student sitting outside the campus in her underwear while the security guards surrounded her.
Another video shows her walking around the campus in her bra and pants while stunned fellow students film her on their mobile phones.
Her act of resistance began after a confrontation inside Azad University’s science and research centre on Saturday, when security forces physically attacked the student because she was not wearing a headscarf.
In response to having her clothes torn, she chose to remove her remaining garments as a protest, according to Iranian student social media news channel, the Amir Kabir newsletter and witnesses who spoke to The Telegraph.
Multiple witnesses confirmed her subsequent detention by the authorities. Video footage showed security officers abducting her from the campus.
Officers forcibly detain student
About 10 security guards were captured on video forcibly bundling the young woman into a vehicle. The footage showed a group of officers overwhelming her before she was detained.
“Oh God, how many of them are attacking just one person?” one onlooker was heard saying. “I can’t believe what I’m seeing,” another said.
“Around noon, near the entrance of the faculty, I saw a girl being grabbed and forcibly taken by security forces,” one witness told The Telegraph from Tehran.
“She wasn’t wearing a headscarf. Then they reached the security building near the entrance, where a male and a female security guard grabbed her and tried to take her into the office with force.
“She resisted, and her hoodie was torn off her body, it made her very angry and she took off the rest of her clothes.
“She angrily yelled at them and took off her trousers – she sat outside the campus for a few minutes and the officer became more aggressive.
“I couldn’t see much but, a few minutes after she started walking, several plain-clothes officers ambushed her and forced her into a car.”
Student media outlets reported that she suffered injuries during the arrest, including severe head trauma after being struck against a vehicle. Witnesses said traces of blood were visible at the scene.
#Girl of Science and Research
The footage has been widely shared in Iran and the student has already become a powerful symbol of resistance, drawing nationwide attention under the hashtag: “Girl of Science and Research.”
“If courage had a face,” one user posted on X with the girl’s picture. “That brave girl is my leader,” another user wrote.
Amir Mahjoub, the director of public relations at the university, said that she was transferred to a “police station” and claimed that she is under “severe mental stress and suffering from psychological disorders”.
The Farhikhtegan newspaper, affiliated with the university, also claimed, citing “official and unofficial sources” that the student has “severe psychological and mental issues”.
The report added that, after being handed over to the police by university security staff, she has been hospitalised in a psychiatric facility.
Whereabouts and condition unknown
There has been no further information about her whereabouts or condition.
Amnesty International has urged Iranian authorities to release the girl “immediately and unconditionally”.
It is not the first time that officials and media affiliated with the Islamic Republic have accused protesters of “mental disorders” and forcibly placed them in psychiatric institutions. The protest echoes earlier acts of civil disobedience, notably that of Vida Movahed, known as “the Girl of Enghelab Street”.
That show of defiance gained international attention in 2017 when a woman removed her headscarf and held it aloft on the tip of a stick while standing to protest against the mandatory hijab.
Observers have drawn parallels between these demonstrations, viewing them as key moments in Iranian women’s ongoing struggle for personal freedoms.
After the September 2022 death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, and the subsequent protests, Iranian universities have also faced heightened repression and intensified control. The protests led to acts of civil disobedience by Iranian women and girls against the mandatory hijab.
New stricter laws
All women in Iran must conceal their hair with a headscarf and wear loose-fitting trousers under their coats while in public but a growing number of Iranian women have appeared in public without head coverings.
Iranian police and security forces have intensified their enforcement of the rules. A new bill making its way through Iran’s parliament is set to harden the regulations governing how women and men can dress in public, but authorities have started enforcing it before its formal approval.
Article 50 of the bill says anyone found “naked, semi-naked, or wearing clothing deemed improper in public” will be immediately arrested and handed over to judicial authorities.
The bill also implements gender segregation across a wide range of settings, including universities, hospitals, educational and administrative centres, parks and tourist sites.
People found in breach of the new rules also face a ban on leaving the country and using social media for a period of six months to two years.
“These girls will one day bring down Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s future belongs to free women, not the mullahs,” a Tehran student told The Telegraph.
“She’ll be remembered as a hero by many women,” she said of the girl who protested on Saturday. “After this regime falls, her picture will be everywhere in Iran, like Mahsa Amin’s and many more.”
About the author
Daniel Lurie leads after strange and terrible election night: Analysis
It’s a shame that San Francisco’s fascinating election results can’t be viewed in isolation from the strange and terrible returns that propelled Donald Trump once more to the presidency. But the luxury of ignoring the bigger picture is something San Francisco no longer gets to do. As of a shade before 1 a.m., every last in-person vote was tabulated — 37,345 of them (20,000 provisional votes are pending). In-person voting is a bit like shaving with a straight-edge razor or knitting your own pot-holders: You could do it if you wanted to, but hardly anybody does. At present, 234,453 votes have been counted; a shade under 45 percent. The Department of Elections expects around 157,000 more votes to trickle in (including those 20,000 provisional ballots). That would result in perhaps a 75 percent turnout; San Francisco voters show up at an average […]
Gov. Tim Walz will face new era of divided government in Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz faces a new era of divided government when he returns home from the presidential campaign trail, now that Republicans appear to have broken the Democratic trifecta that helped put him on Kamala Harris’ radar.While Democrats will keep their one-seat majority in the Senate, leaders on both sides agree that Republicans gained enough seats in the election to tie control of the House at 67-67.According to a tally by The Associated Press, the chamber stood at 65-65 Wednesday afternoon. It would end in a 67-67 tie if the leaders of the last four undeclared races remain ahead. Two of them are so razor-thin that automatic recounts have been triggered unless lawmakers waive them.The last time the House was tied was in 1979, and the history of that legislative session suggests that power-sharing will be contentious.In […]
Election 2024: See results across San Francisco
See below for full election results from across San Francisco, including precinct-level maps and ranked-choice votings results. A total of 44.9 percent of ballots have been counted as of Nov. […] Election 2024: See results across San Francisco Source: missionlocal.org
Kremlin aide says Germany car industry plight shows green transition risks
By Vladimir Soldatkin SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - Russian industry may suffer the fate of car makers in Germany, which have shed tens of thousands of jobs, if it moves too fast to replace fossil fuels, a Kremlin adviser said on Wednesday. "The Russian Federation supports a gradual transition, a gradual transformation, so as to avoid shock scenarios on the energy markets, industrial markets," Kremlin climate envoy Ruslan Edelgeriyev told a conference in Sochi, southern Russia. "Miscalculated ambitions damaged Germany's auto industry," he said, speaking five days before the next U.N. climate change conference begins in Baku, Azerbaijan. Russia is the world's biggest exporter of natural gas and number two exporter of oil. It is one of the world's top carbon dioxide emitters along with China, the United States and India. Russia joined the Paris climate change pact in 2019, which […]
Live updates from San Francisco November races
Follow along for Mission Local’s live updates for Election Day from across San Francisco. For updates in the run-up to the election, click here, and to learn more about the candidates and measures on the ballot, go to our election dashboard. If you like our coverage, consider supporting Mission Local. It’s a heck of an effort, today and every day. Election analysisTuesday, Nov. 5: Today is Election Day in San Francisco. Here’s what to expect.Imagine a political campaign is like a ski ramp, with candidates gaining momentum before soaring off into the unknown. If so, that would render Mark Farrell the Vinko Bogataj of the 2024 San Francisco mayoral campaign. You probably don’t know this name, but you probably do know who this is: He’s the Yugoslavian skier whose horrifying ski-jump-gone-wrong for many years defined “the agony of defeat” in […]
China’s J-35A Stealth Fighter Officially Breaks Cover
China has publicly unveiled the Shenyang J-35A, a land-based stealth fighter that has been under development for some time but which had previously only been seen in unofficial and frequently poor-quality imagery. While we now have a good look at the aircraft, many questions remain, especially about the People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s (PLAAF) plans for it, since the base design was previously understood to be under development primarily for export and latterly also for carrier-based service with the PLA Navy.The first official photo of the J-35A was released today, ahead of its planned debut at the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition, better known as Airshow China, held at Zhuhai Airport in Guangdong province, in southern China. The show opens on November 12.The front three-quarter view of the jet, seen taxiing, reveals several new details and sheds more light […]
Related
Gov. Tim Walz will face new era of divided government in Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz faces a new era of divided government when he returns home from the presidential campaign trail, now that Republicans appear to have broken the Democratic trifecta that helped put him on Kamala Harris’ radar.While Democrats will keep their one-seat majority in the Senate, leaders on both sides agree that Republicans gained enough seats in the election to tie control of the House at 67-67.According to a tally by The Associated Press, the chamber stood at 65-65 Wednesday afternoon. It would end in a 67-67 tie if the leaders of the last four undeclared races remain ahead. Two of them are so razor-thin that automatic recounts have been triggered unless lawmakers waive them.The last time the House was tied was in 1979, and the history of that legislative session suggests that power-sharing will be contentious.In […]
Kremlin aide says Germany car industry plight shows green transition risks
By Vladimir Soldatkin SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - Russian industry may suffer the fate of car makers in Germany, which have shed tens of thousands of jobs, if it moves too fast to replace fossil fuels, a Kremlin adviser said on Wednesday. "The Russian Federation supports a gradual transition, a gradual transformation, so as to avoid shock scenarios on the energy markets, industrial markets," Kremlin climate envoy Ruslan Edelgeriyev told a conference in Sochi, southern Russia. "Miscalculated ambitions damaged Germany's auto industry," he said, speaking five days before the next U.N. climate change conference begins in Baku, Azerbaijan. Russia is the world's biggest exporter of natural gas and number two exporter of oil. It is one of the world's top carbon dioxide emitters along with China, the United States and India. Russia joined the Paris climate change pact in 2019, which […]
China’s J-35A Stealth Fighter Officially Breaks Cover
China has publicly unveiled the Shenyang J-35A, a land-based stealth fighter that has been under development for some time but which had previously only been seen in unofficial and frequently poor-quality imagery. While we now have a good look at the aircraft, many questions remain, especially about the People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s (PLAAF) plans for it, since the base design was previously understood to be under development primarily for export and latterly also for carrier-based service with the PLA Navy.The first official photo of the J-35A was released today, ahead of its planned debut at the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition, better known as Airshow China, held at Zhuhai Airport in Guangdong province, in southern China. The show opens on November 12.The front three-quarter view of the jet, seen taxiing, reveals several new details and sheds more light […]
Musk now says it’s ‘pointless’ to build a $25,000 Tesla for human drivers
By Chris Kirkham (Reuters) - When Reuters reported in April that Tesla (TSLA) had scrapped plans for a long-promised, next-generation $25,000 electric vehicle, the automaker’s stock plunged. Chief Executive Elon Musk rushed to respond on X, his social-media network. “Reuters is lying,” he posted, without elaborating. Tesla’s stock recovered some of its losses. Six months later, Musk appears to have backed into an admission that Tesla dropped its plans for a human-driven $25,000 car. He said in an Oct. 23 earnings call that building the affordable EV would be "pointless” unless the car was fully autonomous. His latest remarks came in response to an investor asking: “When can we expect Tesla to give us the $25,000 non-robotaxi regular car model?” Musk responded: “We’re not making a non-robo…,” before he was interrupted by another Tesla executive. Musk later added: “Basically, I […]
Tucker Carlson Bizarrely Blames Abortion For Increase In Hurricanes
If you thought Tucker Carlson couldn’t get any weirder after claiming he was “physically mauled” by a demon that left claw marks on his body, guess again.Now the former Fox News host turned Donald Trumptoadie is blaming abortions for the increase in hurricanes.Carlson made the dubious claim Monday on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast during a discussion about spirituality that stemmed from his recent claim he’d been attacked by a demon.Somehow the conversation morphed into Carlson decreeing that anyone who thinks reproductive rights are a good thing is “evil” and practicing child sacrifice.Carlson then claimed that people who don’t agree with his thinking are “worshiping abortion, the killing of kids, not as something that, like, needs to happen unfortunately, but as something that is good, that’s pro-abortion.”He then proclaimed that abortion likely causes hurricanes.“I’m sure I’ll be attacked for saying […]
Scientists Found a ‘Yellow Brick Road’ at The Bottom of The Pacific Ocean
An expedition to a deep-sea ridge, just north of the Hawaiian Islands, revealed a surprise discovery back in 2022: an ancient dried-out lake bed paved with what looks like a yellow brick road.The eerie scene was chanced upon by the exploration vessel Nautilus, while surveying the Liliʻuokalani ridge within Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM).PMNM is one of the largest marine conservation areas in the world, larger than all the national parks in the United States combined, and we've only explored about 3 percent of its seafloor.Researchers at the Ocean Exploration Trust are pushing the frontiers of this wilderness, which lies more than 3,000 meters below the waves, and the best part is, anyone can watch the exploration.A highlight reel of the expedition's footage published on YouTube in April 2022 captured the moment researchers operating the deep-sea vehicle stumbled upon the […]
Be the first to leave a comment