The Iranian Consulate in Milan now bears a mural depicting the student who undressed to her underwear in protest, with her hair uncovered, against the suppression of women in Tehran.
Ahou Daryaei stripped off her clothes in public last week after she was allegedly assaulted for wearing her hijab improperly by security members at her university. She was immediately arrested.
Daryaei, who is reportedly the mother of two children, had previously been harassed by members of the Basij, an Iranian volunteer paramilitary group, inside the university’s grounds, according to an Iranian student social media channel, the Amir Kabir newsletter. It claimed members of the force had ripped her headscarf and torn her clothes, says the BBC.
Artist Alexsandro Palombo, whose Instagram bio reads as a “contemporary pop artist & activist, focusing on pop culture, society, diversity, ethics & human rights,” painted the woman depicted in her underwear using the colors and design of the Iranian flag.
On social media, artist Palombo captioned the artwork, “Her gesture is profound, her sacrifice is disruptive, Ahou Daryaei invites us to spread the message through her body and to carry forward the cry of freedom and courage of Iranian women. A warning not to turn away, to fight together with them so as not to be accomplices and indifferent.”
Meanwhile, officials of the Islamic Republic have claimed that Daryaei was suffering from “severe mental pressure and had a mental disorder.”
Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said in reaction to the event, “Instead of viewing this issue under a security lens, we are rather looking at it with a social lens and seek to solve the problems of this student as a troubled individual.”
