Woman arrested in Iran after stripping down to underwear

Distressing footage shows the moment a university student was violently arrested after stripping down to her underwear in Iran.

Distressing footage of a woman in her underwear at an Iranian university has poured fuel on the fire of intensifying rage against strict laws mandating women fully cover up.

The woman was violently arrested following her defiant act at Tehran Islamic Azad University, which was reportedly triggered when university security stopped her for not wearing a headscarf.

She was filmed sitting on a step before walking down a busy sidewalk and crossing the street, where she was then surrounded by authorities and seemingly shoved into a car.

The unnamed woman stood out in the crowd. Picture: X/Sima_Sabet

She walked the sidewalk outside her campus. Picture: X/Sima_Sabet

She removed her clothes in protest of the “abusive enforcement of compulsory veiling by security officials”, Amnesty Iran said.

The human rights organisation has called on Iranian authorities to “immediately and unconditionally release the university student”.

“Pending her release, authorities must protect her from torture and other ill-treatment and ensure access to family and a lawyer,” a statement read.

“Allegations of beatings and sexual violence against her during arrest need independent and impartial investigations. Those responsible must be held to account.”

According to Iranian newspaper Farhikhtegan, the woman was first taken to a police station and later a psychiatric centre.

The “real motive” was subject to investigation, the paper said.

In the video, women’s voices could be heard nervously chatting about the woman’s actions, with one heard seemingly questioning the person filming.

“Why are you doing this behind her back?” one said.

“I’m not sure if it’s a good idea or a bad idea, but … what should we do?” was another comment made.

“You’re making me nervous,” another voice was heard saying.

Women were also heard commenting on the protester’s facial expression, saying: “and now she has the best look on her face”.

She was violently arrested. Picture: X/Sima_Sabet

Then taken to a psychiatric centre. Picture: X/Sima_Sabet

Transferring protesters to psych centres has become common for the Islamic Republic of Iran, with acts of resistance believed by authorities to be a result of poor mental health.

Pushback from women has continued escalating since the deadly protests in September 2022 when Iran introduced laws mandating women to wear headscarves.

The death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who died after being arrested and beaten for not wearing a hijab properly, propelled nationwide protests.

Under sharia law, women must wear a hijab or headscarf and dress modestly when they’re in public and face fines, arrests or detention if they refuse.

Authorities came down so hard on protesters that more than 500 people were killed.

Despite growing unrest, the government has continued to impose harsher rules for women, and recently installed cameras in public places to capture women violating its dress codes.

Earlier this year, scores of Iranian women posted videos of themselves celebrating the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi after he oversaw a brutal crackdown on 2022 protests against the Islamic “morality police”.

Raisi, a reviled leader known as the “Butcher of Tehran,” died when his helicopter crashed in a remote region of the country in May.

A tightening grip on women’s rights has also been observed in Afghanistan, where the Taliban has banned women from hearing each other’s voices.

Experts have claimed it's the latest step toward erasing “women entirely from public life and society”.