A young Iranian woman was arrested for stripping off her clothes in protest outside her university after she was reportedly assaulted and harassed for improperly wearing her hijab, considered to be a violation of the Islamic Republic’s strict hijab laws.
A woman who was beaten by the oppressive Islamic Republic of Iran police because her hair was visible protested against the imposition of the Hijab by undressing#OpIran pic.twitter.com/vQFRsOJC2s
— Anonymous (@Parrattarna) November 3, 2024
The woman, identified asAhoo Daryaei, was harassed inside the Tehran Azad University of Science and Research by members of Iran’s Basij militia, a paramilitary organization within the regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who ripped her headscarf and clothes, several news outlets and social media channels outside Iran reported.
She then took her clothes off in protest and sat outside her university just in her underwear before walking defiantly in the street, to the surprise of many passers-by. Videos of the woman, first shared by several Persian social media channels and news outlets, went viral online, with many netizens supporting her for standing up to the Iranian regime.
Under Iran’s strict Islamic dress code, all women must wear a headscarf in public and loose-fitting clothes that cover all bodily contours.
Her name is Miss Ahoo Daryaei (آهو_دریایی).
They'll not kill her as she has become an icon within two days. Islamic regime is playing it down by declaring her a mental illness case and admitted her in a mental institution for treatment.
Freedom of women in Islam is mental… pic.twitter.com/haTmiFkyZI— Imtiaz Mahmood (@ImtiazMadmood) November 3, 2024
The woman was reportedly left blooded after Iranian security forces allegedly assaulted her and tore her clothes. Various student groups shared mixed reports online as to how she was injured, with some claiming members of the security forces smashed her head into a nearby car or pillar.
Footage of the woman appeared to have been taken by onlookers in a nearby building. Another video showed her being taken into a car by men in plain clothes and driven off to an undisclosed location.
Amir Mahjoub, the university’s director general of public relations, confirmed the woman’s arrest.
"Following an indecent act by a student at the Science and Research Branch of the university, campus security intervened and handed the individual over to law enforcement authorities," Mahjoub posted on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Disgusting girl , I hope they put her in a mental hospital and then prison so she can learn to cover herself . DISGUSTING
— Curiouswisdom (@Curioswisdomhub) November 6, 2024
"The motives and underlying reasons for the student's actions are currently under investigation." Mahjoub also said, adding that "at the police station,...it was found that she was under severe mental pressure and had a mental disorder.”
Iran’s Fars news agency also confirmed the woman’s arrest, claiming that she wore "inappropriate clothes" in class and "stripped" after being warned to comply with the dress code.
Citing "witnesses," the state-owned agency said security forces spoke "calmly" with the woman and denied reports she was assaulted and beaten.
In Iran, a student harassed by her university’s morality police over her “improper” hijab didn’t back down. She turned her body into a protest, stripping to her underwear and marching through campus—defying a regime that constantly controls women’s bodies. Her act is a powerful… pic.twitter.com/76ekxSK7bI
— Masih Alinejad (@AlinejadMasih) November 2, 2024
Several messages in support of the woman have been posted on social media. Masih Alinejad, an Iranian-American journalist, author, and activist who the Iranian regime tried to assassinate a few times, commented on X that “in Iran, a student harassed by her university’s morality police over her 'improper' hijab didn’t back down. She turned her body into a protest, stripping to her underwear and marching through campus—defying a regime that constantly controls women’s bodies. Her act is a powerful reminder of Iranian women’s fight for freedom. Yes, we use our bodies like weapons to fight back a regime that kills women for showing their hair.”
“This happened at Tehran’s Science and Research University She has since been arrested by the authorities,” Alinejad added. “Be her voice.”
The Islamic Republic’s draconian hijab laws have drawn condemnation, especially following the death of Mahsa Amini under the custody of Iran’s morality police after she was arrested for “improper hijab” in 2022. Her death sparked the biggest challenge to the regime since the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
