Iranian woman who defied hijab law with "naked protest" freed amid rising dissent

Iran has freed a student, Ahou Daryai, without charges, a month after her arrest for staging a protest against the country's mandatory hijab law by stripping to her underwear.

The incident took place in early November at Tehran University, when a video surfaced showing Dariai being detained by security forces, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

The video quickly went viral, drawing widespread attention to her act of defiance. Human rights organization Amnesty International condemned her arrest, calling for her immediate release.

According to Iran’s judicial spokesperson Ashgar Jahangir, Daryai was sent to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation after her arrest. The diagnosis of mental illness was cited as the reason for her release, with authorities choosing not to press charges. This move echoes a troubling pattern where women protesting the mandatory hijab are sometimes labelled as mentally ill in an attempt to delegitimize their activism.

Daryai's protest is part of a broader wave of dissent sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022. Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman, died after being detained by Iran’s morality police for allegedly wearing an improper headscarf. Her death triggered nationwide protests, with many women removing their hijabs in defiance of the regime’s strict dress code. Despite the brutal crackdown that followed, which saw more than 550 protesters killed and thousands more arrested, the movement for women's rights continues to gain momentum.

Human rights groups have also expressed alarm at the crackdown on women who are considered to be in breach of Iran’s mandatory dress code, saying there has been a recent spate of arrests, forced disappearances and the shuttering of businesses linked to perceived breaches of the hijab laws.

Last week, the Center for Human Rights in Iran highlighted the case of Roshanak Molaei Alishah, a 25-year-old woman who it said was arrested after confronting a man who harassed her on the street over her hijab. The NGO said her current whereabouts are unknown.

In Iran, all women are required to cover their hair and wear loose-fitting clothes in public, with violators facing severe penalties, including persecution through "smart cameras" designed to identify those who defy the dress code.

The government is also considering legislation that would further tighten restrictions on hijab-wearing, a proposal that has already been approved by the conservative-dominated Council of Guardians.

By Tamilla Hasanova