Hijab Crackdowns Continue At Tehran’s Beheshti University

University security guards targeted women at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran as crackdowns on hijab laws worsen.

Several students in the psychology faculty were first targeted before the security team reached humanities and literature students. ID cards were recorded as the regime does all it can to threaten and intimidate those not complying with compulsory hijab laws.

Other measures have been imposed on students including forcing them to agree to wearing the hijab in order to choose courses, with some students even exiled to other cities.

It comes amidst heightened crackdowns across the country where students have been a pivotal part of the Women, Life, Freedom movement challenging the Islamic Republic. Over 140 universities across Iran witnessed protests following the death in morality police custody of Mahsa Amini. Since that time, hundreds of students have been arrested and banned from studies as a consequence of support for anti-regime protests. 

In April, Iran’s Student Union Council claimed that more than 430 students had been suspended or expelled following the recent protests across the country.At the time, US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said 637 students from 144 universities had been arrested since mid-September. Other sources have put the number at well over 700.

The regime continues to make universities a focal point. On Monday, Mohammad Moghimi, president of the University of Tehran, admitted an increased presence of hijab enforcers on the capital's campus. He mentioned that women, educated in seminaries, have formed monitoring groups dedicated to overseeing students' compliance with hijab regulations.

Student councils further disclosed that over the past week, more than 50 students were summoned to disciplinary committees by the hijab enforcement teams. The penalties ranged from verbal reprimands to suspension from their studies.