A ‘Shameful Phenomenon’: Iran Arrests Female Protester After She Disrobes at University

Latest Developments

• Iranian Student Protests Mandatory Dress Code: Ahoo Daryaei stripped to her underwear at Tehran’sIslamic Azad University on November 2 after members of the Basij militia, which enforces Iran’s mandatory dress code, harassed her for refusing to wear a hijab, or headscarf, in public. The regime subsequently sent Daryaeito a psychiatric hospital, describing her as a “troubled individual” rather than a security threat.

• Iran Seeks to Delegitimize Hijab Protests: Tehran routinely sends women who protest the dress code to psychiatric facilities in an attempt to discredit their activism. “It is not the protesting woman who should be subjected to psychological examination, but rather those enforcing and implementing the shameful phenomenon of ‘mandatory hijab,’ who allow themselves to use women’s bodies as tools of violence against them at any place and time,” said jailed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi in a November 3 statement from Iran’s notorious Evin Prison.

• Hijab Laws Have Sparked Nationwide Protests: Demonstrations unfolded throughout Iran in September 2022 after the regime murdered 22-year-old Mahsa Amini for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly. Protests still continue in Iran, with at least 19 demonstrations in November to date and at least 144 in October, according to FDD’s Iran protest tracker.

FDD Expert Response

“The regime’s abuse of women remains a core vulnerability we must exploit. Ahoo Daryaei should become a household name across the world, and leaders in Washington should publicly speak about her with high frequency.” — Richard Goldberg, FDD Senior Advisor

“Ahoo Daryaei’s brave protest is yet another sign that domestic resistance to the Islamic Republic’s gender apartheid laws, such as mandatory veiling, runs deep. No matter the brutal crackdown, both on the streets and in cyberspace, Iranians — in particular, Iranian women — are bravely finding new ways to express dissent and shake the pillars of the Islamic Republic. The West should do more than just be a bystander in this contest.” — Behnam Ben Taleblu, FDD Senior Fellow

“Since September 2022, FDD has documented close to 7,500 protest-related events in Iran. Iran is in a pre-revolutionary stage. Will the world side with the Iranian people or continue to support the regime that oppresses them?” —Saeed Ghasseminejad, FDD Senior Iran and Financial Economics Advisor

“The Islamic Republic’s psychiatric hospitalization of Ahoo Daryaei reflects its failure to persuade the Iranian public that its radical ideology carries legitimacy. The clerical regime knows full well that its hijab laws remain unpopular and is desperately attempting to gaslight Iranians by pretending that protesters are mentally disturbed rather than principled.” — Tzvi Kahn, FDD Research Fellow and Senior Editor