Female Iranian student strips to protest harassment and is arrested, reports say
The woman sat outside a university in her underwear before defiantly walking in the street to the astonishment of passers-by
Iranian authorities arrested a female student on Saturday after she staged a solo protest against harassment by stripping to her underwear outside her university, reports said.
The woman, who has not been identified, had been harassed inside the prestigious Tehran Azad University of Science and Research by members of the Basij militia who ripped her headscarf and clothes, according to reports by several news outlets and social media channels outside Iran.
She then took off her clothes in protest and sat outside the university dressed just in her underwear before defiantly walking in the street to the astonishment of passers-by, videos posted on social media channels showed.
Under the dress code mandatory in Iran, women must wear a headscarf in public and loose-fitting clothes that cover all bodily contours.
The footage, which was first posted by Iranian student social media channel, the Amir Kabir newsletter, was published by numerous Persian-language outlets, including the Dadban legal affairs social media channel, the Hengaw rights group and Iran Wire news website.
The footage appeared to have been shot by onlookers in a neighbouring building. Another video showed her being bundled into a car by men in plain clothes and driven off to an undisclosed location.
