Narges Mohammadi on 'Ahoo Daryayi': Women Do Not Bow to Force

Narges Mohammadi, a human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, called for the release of a female student protester from the University of Science and Research who was arrested on Saturday after protesting against mandatory hijab. Mohammadi stated that women 'do not bow to force.' This female student, identified by some sources as Ahoo Daryayi, stripped off her clothes in protest against the violent actions of the security forces at the university. She was subsequently arrested after being beaten by plainclothes forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In a message from Evin Prison published on her Instagram page, Mohammadi referred to the arrest of this protesting girl, stating: 'Women pay the price for defiance but do not bow to force. The body of the protesting student symbolizes resistance, intense anger, and rebellion.' She also expressed her desire to end the repression and harassment of women. According to Amir Kabir Newsletter, this woman is a 30-year-old student in her seventh semester studying French at the University of Science and Research, and she was sent to Iran's psychiatric hospital after her arrest by the IRGC Intelligence Organization. On the other hand, the spokesperson for Islamic Azad University claimed that 'around noon on Saturday, one of the female students filming with her phone was confronted by other students, and this was reported to security. Security insisted that the student delete the video from her phone, but the student reacted aggressively towards the female security forces and then removed her hijab and clothes.' A user on social media refuted the claims of the authorities and state media regarding this incident, stating: 'Today around noon, in front of the entrance to Block 1 of the faculty, we saw that the security and Basij forces were trying to forcibly take a female student into the security booth on the pretext of not wearing a hijab and scarf, but due to this girl's resistance, her clothes (hoodie-like) were torn off, and she was left with nothing but her underwear, which shocked the security officers and they released her. Then, out of frustration, this girl also took off her pants and threw them at the officers.' According to this user, ultimately, three officers violently took the protesting woman away in a silver Pride car with a Tehran license plate. Following the publication of this incident in the media and the treatment of this woman by the authorities, Amnesty International called on the Iranian authorities on social media to 'immediately and unconditionally' release this student and to protect her from torture and other ill-treatment until her release, ensuring her access to family and a lawyer. Maya Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, also stated that she is closely monitoring this incident and the response of the Iranian authorities. While state media and officials attempt to attribute the student’s protest nudity to her 'mental disorder,' many citizens and political and human rights activists view this student's action as 'rebellion' and 'defiance' against the government. Previously, Kianoush Sanjari, a journalist who has also been detained in a psychiatric hospital, told Voice of America that transferring political prisoners to psychiatric centers is 'a repetition of Soviet and Nazi Germany practices.'