Iranian student strips naked and walks around in underwear in apparent protest against strict hijab laws

A student was arrested in Iran on Sunday for stripping naked and parading around campus in her underwear, apparently in protest against alleged assaults for not wearing a hijab.

A now-viral video shows the young woman wearing a bra and panties in the courtyard of Tehran's Azad University, while other footage shows her soon being pushed into a car by men and driven away.

The unidentified student was protesting against security forces who had earlier torn her clothes while confronting her about not wearing a headscarf, which Iranian law requires for all women in public, Iran International reported.

After the woman stripped off her clothes in protest, she was filmed sitting on a wall from above – as a man approached her and spoke on the phone before casually walking away as confused student spectators watched.

A university representative said, “Campus security intervened and turned the individual over to law enforcement,” blaming the incident on “an indecent act by a student.”

An online student group claimed the woman was also attacked by plainclothes security forces during her arrest, leaving her bleeding profusely after her head was possibly hit against a pillar or the car door.

“Stains of the student’s blood were reportedly seen on the tires of the car,” the online groups said, according to Iran International.

She was taken to a police station and then admitted to a psychiatric facility, the report said. Before the incident, she said she suffered “severe psychological distress” while speaking to university officials.

The underwear-clad protester has already become an icon for those who denounce the Islamic Republic's brutal treatment of those who defy its rules.

A key UN official expressed concerns about the student's arrest.

“I will closely monitor this incident, including the response of the authorities,” Mai Sato, the UN special observer for human rights, wrote on X alongside video of the incident.

Iranian law requires all women, whether Muslim or not, to wear headscarves in public, and the government has stepped up enforcement of these laws since 2022, when Mahsa Amini died in custody after being arrested for hijab violations was what sparked protests in which security forces killed more than 550 people and arrested thousands more.