Iranian girl who stripped to her underwear in a protest over hijab legal guidelines has ‘been launched with out cost’ after she was hauled away by police and thrown right into a psychiatric ward

An Iranian woman who stripped down to her underwear in protest over hijab laws has been released without any charges, according to Iranian authorities. 

The young woman, who has been named by the BBC as Ahoo Daryaei, was seen walking around Tehran’s Islamic Azad University in her underwear before security guards detained her on November 2.

Ms Daryaei was then arrested and taken to a mental hospital by morality police, with a university spokesperson claiming she was ‘under severe mental pressure and had a mental disorder’. 

Human rights group Amnesty International said Ms Daryaei had removed her clothes ‘in protest against abusive enforcement of compulsory veiling by security officials’ and called for her ‘immediate and unconditional release’. 

Following the international condemnation, Iran‘s judiciary said on Tuesday the student had been returned home without any charges issued against her.

‘Considering that she was sent to the hospital, and it was found that she was ill, she was handed over to her family… and no judicial case has been filed against her,’ judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir said. 

Ms Daryaei’s protest sparked harsh reactions from officials in Iran, where covering the neck and head and dressing modestly became mandatory for women following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Science Minister Hossein Simaei, who oversees universities, described the student’s act as ‘immoral and uncustomary’, while adding that she had not been expelled from her university.

Iranian student Ahoo Daryaei stripped down to her underwear in protest over hijab laws. She has been released without any charges, according to Iranian authorities

She was seen in footage sitting and pacing back and forth around Tehran’s Islamic Azad University in her underwear before security guards detained her on November 2

The student reportedly sustained severe injuries following the assault during her arrest

University spokesperson Amir Mahjoub confirmed Ms Daryaei’s arrest on X earlier this month.

He said: ‘Following an indecent act by a student at the science and research branch of the university, campus security intervened and handed the individual over to law enforcement authorities. 

‘The motives and underlying reasons for the student’s actions are currently under investigation’. 

According to Reuters, Mahjoub also added that ‘at the police station,…it was found that she was under severe mental pressure and had a mental disorder’.

But some social media users suggested the woman’s action was a deliberate protest.

‘For most women, being …in their underwear in public is one of their worst nightmares, … This is a reaction to the (authorities’) stupid insistence on the mandatory hijab,’ a user on X, said in a comment accompanying the video.  

The student reportedly sustained severe injuries following the assault during her arrest, Iran International reported, citing a newsletter by the student group Amir Kabir newsletter.

It said the student was ‘disrobed after being harassed for not wearing a headscarf and having her clothing torn by security forces’.

‘Blood stains from the student were reportedly seen on the car’s tyres,’ the newsletter said, adding that her head was struck either by a car door or a pillar which caused heavy bleeding.

People in support of the Iranian community take part in the Freedom Rally for Iran demonstration against the Iranian regime on February 22, 2023 in Rome, Italy

Mahsa Amini, 22, died on September 16, three days after falling into a coma following her arrest

Amini died in custody after not observing Iran’s ultra-conservative dress code, causing outrage across the country and beyond 

Iranian government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani denied both the violent nature of her arrest and any connection of the incident to the Islamic dress code.

‘The issue was actually something else,’ she said, noting that ‘this level of nudity is not accepted anywhere.’

Growing numbers of women have defied authorities by discarding their veils after nationwide protests in September 2022 that followed the death of a young Iranian Kurdish woman in custody for allegedly violating hijab rules. 

Mahsa Amini, 22, died after being captured by morality police for not wearing her hijab correctly.

Her death spearheaded mass protests known as ‘Women. life, freedom’ which lasted months in the country.

A year later, in October 2023, an Iranian teenager named Armita Geravand was injured in a suspicious incident on Tehran’s metro while not wearing a head covering. 

She later died in the hospital after falling into a coma.