Tehran University Cancels Photo Exhibit over Hijab Rules

The authorities at Tehran University of Arts have called off a student photography exhibition that would have featured images of women without a mandatory headscarf. 

Students quoted university security personnel as saying that the artworks would not be displayed unless the pictures showing women's skin and faces were removed. 

Students have held protests at Tehran University of Arts since June 14 over the university administration and security personnel's insistence that women students abide by the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code.

On June 17, more than 10 male and female students protesting mandatory headscarf rules outside the campus of the university were forcefully arrested and taken to an undisclosed location. 

In an act of defiance against the ideology and laws of the Islamic Republic, a growing number of women have appeared in public without hijab since nationwide protests erupted in September last year.

Some defiant women were arrested, summoned by the authorities and faced legal cases, while hundreds of small businesses and shopping malls were shut down for allegedly failing to enforce hijab rules on their customers. Taxi drivers have been fined for transporting women without headscarves, while police and volunteers have issued warnings in subways, airports and other public places.