Iran steps up hijab arrests Videos show women being dragged from the streets

Harrowing first-hand accounts of women being dragged from the streets of Iran and detained by security services have emerged as human rights groups say the country's hijab rules have been brutally enforced since the country's drone strikes on Israel on 13 April.

- Deepa Parent

A new campaign called Noor (Persian for "light") to crack down on "violations" of the country's draconian hijab rules was announced the same day the Iranian regime launched drone attacks against Israel.

The hijab rules dictate that all women must cover their heads in public.

Hours later, videos of women and girls being forcefully arrested by agents of the notorious Gashte-Irshad (morality police) flooded social media, along with stories of beatings and assault. The videos were verified by human rights groups.

One mother and daughter walking through a busy Tehran square were surrounded by five chador-clad female agents and two male agents, who hurled insults and accusations before they grabbed the women.

When the women resisted arrest they were violently dragged into a van, a source close to the family said.

Dina Ghalibaf, a student at Tehran's Shahid Beheshti University, was among the first to tweet about a confrontation. On her now suspended X account, she said: "Yesterday in the police room of Sadeghiyeh metro station, I insisted that I had the right to use the metro as a citizen and a taxpayer. But then, they violently dragged me into a room and Tasered me. They handcuffed me and one of the officers sexually assaulted me."