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Rejection of the hijab is not a psychiatric diagnosis

Elsevier, The Lancet Psychiatry, Volume 12, February 2025
Authors
Mirzaei S., Wasserman D., Schulze T.G., Dorfler D., Wenzel T.

On Nov 2, 2024, the world witnessed the protest of a young student on the grounds of Tehran's Azad University, Iran. This young woman was reportedly harassed by the university's morality guards (paramilitary members of the Basij ([paramilitary volunteer militia within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps]) for improper wearing of the headscarf. In response, as seen in various privately captured videos shared online1 and in a statement from Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi,2 the student removed some of her clothing in protest. She was seen sitting silently on a wall or pacing back and forth in apparent anger. She did not chant slogans, but instead can be seen as staging what could be seen as a silent protest against her harassment over the hijab imposed by the morality guards.

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