Iranian student arrested after stripping naked outside a university in Tehran has been transferred to a “specialized care center”. The authorities speak of psychological fragility, while his gesture sparks debates within society.
On November 2, an Iranian student was arrested in Tehran after she undressed in public. According to a press release from the Iranian embassy in Paris, she was transferred to a “specialized care center”.
The press release indicates that the student suffers from a “psychological fragility” and that she was taken to this center by the social emergency services. The authorities also insist that this is a “private” matter.
A divided reaction within the Iranian authorities
The Minister of Science, Research and Technology, Hossein Simaei, described the student’s behavior as “immoral” and contrary to the norms of Sharia, Islamic law.
“She broke the norms, and her behavior was not based on Sharia law. He was immoral and contrary to customs“, he declared on Wednesday during a government meeting.
However, the minister clarified that the student had not been excluded from her university. The video showing the young woman undressed in front of Azad University in Tehran was widely shared on social networks, sparking strong reactions among the public.
In these videos, we see the student in her underwear, sitting and then walking slowly in front of her establishment. The Iranian media also relayed these images, blurring them.
Minister Simaei strongly criticized “those who reposted these images“, accusing them of “spread prostitution“and affirming that the broadcast of these images was not justified”neither on the moral level nor on the religious level“.
The student’s motivations remain uncertain
The reasons for the student’s action are still not clearly established. Amir Mahjoub, head of public relations at Azad University, said on Saturday that “university security intervened and handed her over to the police station“, adding that the student was “under great pressure and suffered from mental disorders“.
Furthermore, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani denied reports claiming that the student was brutally arrested.
Tuesday evening, Amnesty International expressed its concern by mentioning “alarming information“on the transfer of the student to a psychiatric hospital. The NGO recalled that”Iranian authorities equate rejection of compulsory veil with mental disorder requiring treatment“.
She is not only sane, but also courageous, full of joy and vitality
According to the embassy press release, the student, mother of two children and separated from her husband, will be able to resume her studies at university once recovered, if the establishment accepts her return.
US-based activist Masih Alinejad has refuted any mental disorder and described the student as “not only sane, but also a courageous woman, filled with joy and vitality“, citing testimonies from people who knew her.
Since the revelation of this affair, the young woman has become a new symbol of the women’s struggle in Iran. His act is seen by many as a gesture of resistance to the constraints imposed by the regime.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said that France “followed attentively” the student’s situation, indicating the international attention given to this case.
For the moment, Iranian authorities are treating this matter as an individual case, while abroad it is seen by some as a political act.
iran student
