the video of an Iranian student undressed in front of her university goes around the world

In a few hours, images of this Iranian student, in panties and a bra in front of her university in Tehran, went viral. First posted this Saturday, November 2 by the Iranian student site Amir Kabir, then by other activist groups including Hengaw and Amnesty Iran, they testify to the oppression of women in the country. The young girl would have in fact undressed as a sign of protest, wishing, by this gesture, to denounce the harassment of which she was the victim by members of the Basidji militia, a paramilitary force “made up of men and women placed under the control of the guards (Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards),” reports Amnesty.

The identity of the student has not been revealed, but she was part of the prestigious Azad University in Tehran, as we already know, the same place where the images were captured. In the sequence, visibly captured by the residents of a neighboring building, we see her walking along the streets, her arms crossed and her body naked, before being grabbed and thrown into a car by men in civilian clothes. According to the Amir Kabir website, the latter was allegedly beaten during her arrest. Associations and activist groups have since called for his release.

The specter of Mahsa Amini

The Iranian Fars agency, which reported the incident and published a blurred photo of the student, reported that the latter wore “inappropriate” clothes in class and “undressed” after being warned by security officers. Islamic law in Iran imposes a very strict dress code on women, who are required to wear headscarves and loose clothing that conceals their shapes. According to Fars, citing “witnesses,” the agents spoke “calmly” to the young woman and did not act aggressively.

Nevertheless, the student’s courage has since been praised around the world. “Images that leave you speechless! A student from a university in Tehran, after being harassed by university security agents because of her hijab, took off her clothes and sat in the middle of the campus in protest! She has since been arrested by the Revolutionary Guards. What courage…” commented political scientist Farid Vahid on X.

Iranian women are at the origin of an unprecedented revolt movement in the country after the death of young Mahsa Amini in September 2022, arrested for not having respected the dress code.