World is watching Iran over detained protester, says UN

Female student’s whereabouts are unknown since weekend

- ALISHA RAHAMAN SARKAR

The UN has warned Iran that it is monitoring the case of a woman who was arrested for protesting against her treatment under the country's strict hijab laws – and has not been seen since the weekend.

Police detained the woman after she appeared in public in her undergarments in protest at an alleged assault by officers. Human rights groups and activists called on Iranian authorities to release the woman. The incident triggered outrage among Iranian dissidents two years after thousands of women took to the streets in protest following the brutal death of Mahsa Amini in 2022.

“I will be monitoring this incident closely, including the authorities’ response,” UN special rapporteur Mai Sato wrote on X, formerly Twitter. She shared a video that showed the woman sitting and walking around the university campus in her underwear. Another video showed her being detained by security forces and forcibly put in a car.

Iran’s security forces reportedly assaulted the woman and tore off her clothes inside Tehran’s Islamic Azad University science and research branch on Saturday for not following hijab rules.