Iranian Students Stage Protest Against Lecturer for Insulting Islamic Dress Code

Text of report by Iranian newspaper Iran entitled: “Students’ protest against a lecturer for insulting a girl with Islamic Hijab” on 5 May

We heard that after a lecturer had insulted a student with Islamic Hijab at the Art Faculty of Tehran University at noon on Thursday [3 May], students gathered outside Tehran University. Accordingly, Tuesday afternoon, a student attending her graphic class draws an angel without any hair. An animation lecturer of the Art Faculty of Tehran University criticizes her on her work.

Another student wearing a chador [overall covering Hijab] comments that the beauty of an angel has got nothing to do with her hair. The lecturer at this moment says: Lest you don’t have any hair yourself?

In the semi-humorous-serious atmosphere of the class, the lecturer then approaches the student and takes out some of her hair from underneath her scarf. The student, who was from a religious family, does not make any reaction; but faces some problems later on [with her family] and her husband, in particular, becomes very upset of what had happened and calls for investigation into what the lecturer had done.

Later on, some 700 students from various faculties of Tehran University hold a rally outside Tehran University at noon on Thursday. Tehran University Students’ Basij [popular mobilized force] also issues a declaration criticizing what the lecturer had done and calls for the lecturer to be expelled and prosecuted.

In the gathering, Habibi, the dean of the Fine Art Faculty of Tehran University said: The individual was not a member of the Fine Art Faculty and was only invited as a guest lecturer.

It is noteworthy that after extensive objections by students, Tehran University officials condemned the lecturer’s act and stressed that he will no longer teach at the university’s classes.

(c) 2007 BBC Monitoring Middle East. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.