Ahoo Daryaei Stripping In Iran Protest

Overview

The Ahoo Daryaei Stripping In Iran Protest refers to a public protest done by Iranian woman Ahoo Daryaei (or Ahou Daryaei) in early November 2024. During the incident, Daryaei stripped at Tehran's Islamic Azad University to protest the Islamic regime's enforced dress code for women in which not wearing a hijab or a burka is illegal. A viral video of Ahoo Daryaei spread on social media platforms like Twitter / X and Reddit shortly after. Daryaei was arrested soon after and forcibly admitted to a mental hospital. Her protest and subsequent arrest inspired outrage and debate online in the following days as many created fan art that championed Daryaei. Also, conservative X pundit Jackson Hinkle shared a controversial tweet about the event, which sparked backlash against him.

Background

On November 2nd, 2024, X^[1] user @AliEbrahimzade_ shared a video of a woman at the Islamic Azad University's Science and Research Branch in Tehran who'd stripped down to her underwear on campus. @AliEbrahimzade_ claimed that she "got naked in protest against the notice of the university security." The tweet amassed over 1.8 million views and 7,400 likes in two days (shown below). It is currently the first known upload of the video online.

یکی از دختران دانشجوی دانشگاه علوم تحقیقات در اعتراض به تذکر حراست دانشگاه عریان شد. pic.twitter.com/3Lpho1EIo7

— Ali Ebrahimzadeh (@AliEbrahimzade_) November 2, 2024

In a reply posted later on November 2nd, X^[5] user @AliEbrahimzade_ attached another video that showed the woman walking down a street where authorities eventually rushed her (shown below).

#دختر_علوم_تحقیقات گزارش دوم pic.twitter.com/PWVYQ9Asac

— Ali Ebrahimzadeh (@AliEbrahimzade_) November 2, 2024

In the following hours, the videos were reposted by various Iranian and Western news outlets on X.^[2][3]

It was later reported that the woman was named Ahoo Daryaei and she had been detained shortly after her stripping. Outlets like NBC News, Sky News and Amnesty International reported that she was violently arrested and taken to a mental hospital.^[4][6]

Online Reactions

On November 2nd, 2024, internet users reacted en masse to Ahoo Daryaei's protest and arrest. For instance, on November 2nd, activist and X^[7] user @HosseinRonaghi championed Daryaei in a tweet that received over 11,000 likes in two days (shown below).

Also on November 2nd, X^[8] user @ImtiazMadmood tweeted a drawing of Daryaei standing tall above other people, captioning it, "Standing tall vs. the Islamic regime…" Over two days, the tweet amassed over 185,000 likes (shown below).

Similar artwork was shared by X^[9] user @AzatAlsalim on November 3rd, 2024, showing Ahoo Daryaei in her underwear amid a crowd of women wearing chadors, gaining over 6,500 likes in a day (shown below).

Jackson Hinkle's Tweet

On November 3rd, 2024, X^[10] user Jackson Hinkle (@jacksonhinklle) tweeted an image of Ahoo Daryaei, captioning it, "She’s not 'brave,' she was having a mental health crisis," receiving over 64,000 likes in a day (shown below).

Shortly after, Hinkle's tweet was given a Community Note ^[11] that read, "It reproduces verbatim the official version of the Iranian regime, the one that has killed women for not wearing the 'correct' attire."

Hinkle's tweet sparked backlash from other X users in the following days. For instance, on November 3rd, X^[12] user @azijangravi quote retweeted Hinkle, claiming, "When I protested against mandatory hijab, after the security forces arrested me, my family was pressured to declare me mentally ill." Her tweet (which was the start of a longer thread) gained over 90,000 likes in a day (shown below).

Search Interest

External References