Viral Footage of Security Guard Slamming Student’s Head Into Stairs Sparks Fury in Iran

Footage of a security guard assaulting students at a university in Iran has caused outcry in the country after going viral online, as the government continues to crack down on women’s clothing.

Students were seen being assaulted by security personnel in one of the faculties at Allameh Tabatabai University in Tehran last week.

The video shows a security guard verbally assaulting women and then slamming the head of a student into the stairs. Student groups from other universities have put out statements condemning the incident and saying that such violent assaults are an ongoing issue across the country for students.  

Universities in Iran have been the epicentre of the protest movement, which was sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody September 2022 after being arrested for allegedly breaking the country’s hijab laws. A recent UN report found that more than 20,000 were arrested by Iranian security services during the protests. Rights groups also estimate that more than 530 people were killed.

The recent rebellion among university students in Iran comes in the wake of a new wave of warnings issued by security officials on campuses to female students, telling them to wear proper hijab while on campus. A strictly enforced “modesty” policy endorsed by the hardline clerics who rule the country is aimed at containing a trend of women uncovering their hair or wearing tight or revealing clothing.  

The policy was temporarily suspended following nationwide protests sparked by Amini’s death last year, but it has come back in with renewed force in recent months. 

Iranian state media reported that the university’s management said the incident was an act of provocation by the students who tried to disturb the “peace” in the exam hall. It added that the incident was under investigation. In response, a group of students at Allameh Tabatabai University put out a statement on Tuesday. “They might break our heads, but they can’t take out the idea of freedom in our mind, and the belief of victory out of our hearts,” it read.

“We’ll stand against you until we free universities from gender discrimination, commercialisation of education, and exclusion based on political, religious, or ideological reasons.”

Students from other universities in Tehran echoed the call against the violence used by security guards against female students accused of breaking hijab laws on campus. 

Earlier this month, a group of students from Tehran University of Arts, a relatively liberal institution, were arrested and beaten by security forces for protesting against the hijab policy. During the past year of protests, thousands of students across the country have been summoned before university disciplinary committees nationwide, while hundreds of students have been hit with penalties such as expulsion, suspension, and being kicked out of dormitory facilities.

The Iranian government blamed its foreign foes such as the US and Israel for inciting protests across the country last year. In response to the ferocity of the protests, the regime quietly downsized its “morality police” patrols with vans rounding up women in public places for failing to wear “appropriate” head coverings. Instead, it has started enforcing the rules via warnings.