Protests Against the 'Suppression' of Optional Hijab; Some Amir Kabir University Students Refuse to Attend Classes

Following the prevention of students from entering Amir Kabir University by security forces during the crackdown on optional hijab, a group of students announced that they would strike and refrain from attending classes on the second and third of Ordibehesht (April 21-22). According to a report from the Telegram channel 'Amirkabir Newsletter', on Sunday, Ordibehesht 2, 'after the suppression of hijab' on Saturday at Amir Kabir University and 'preventing the entry of more than 200 students', several 'various student groups' called on students of Amir Kabir University (Polytechnic) to protest against the suppression of students by 'class strikes' and 'not attending classes on Ordibehesht 2 and 3'. The report states that 'as of this morning (Sunday), the faculties of Computer Engineering, Energy Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Textile Engineering, and Mathematics of Computer Science are in a general strike and classes have not been held!' It also emphasized that 'in the faculties of Medical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Marine Engineering, a significant number of classes have not been held either.' In the past week, coinciding with the implementation of the 'Noor Plan' by the Islamic Republic's police command, which began on Saturday, Farvardin 25, 1403, to confront societal resistance against mandatory hijab, student media reported an escalation in confrontations with students under the pretext of not having 'appropriate hijab'. The Amirkabir Newsletter had previously reported that from the early hours of Ordibehesht 1, 'dress code confrontations' with Amir Kabir students had reached the highest level in the past 10 years. Under the 'Chastity and Hijab' bill, a 'database of students' is to be provided to the police command to identify individuals who do not comply with mandatory hijab. Recently, on Shahrivar 29, 1402, the latest 'executive guidelines for professional behavior and dress code' for medical students and assistants for the academic year 1403-1402 were published, stating that 'any short or tight clothing, open-front coats, silk, lace, or open-collared clothing that reveals the body is prohibited' and must be covered with 'long headscarves (down to the shoulder) and of appropriate thickness to cover all hair and head', 'so that the neck area and collar of the clothing are also covered.' It was also declared that the use of thin and short scarves, shawls alone, or hair showing from the front or back of the headscarf is prohibited, and it was emphasized that 'nail extensions' and makeup on the face and nails 'that attract attention' are also prohibited. In recent days, reports of the suppression of students and pressure on them to comply with mandatory hijab from other universities, including Alzahra University, have also been published. The head of the central student disciplinary committee of Azad University also emphasized in a letter the need to confront students who do not comply with hijab regulations and called for the prevention of entry for those he described as 'violators of grooming norms'.