Female Students Arrested at Melli University and University of Tehran; Protesting Women Pepper Sprayed in Isfahan

[IwantToRetire]

On the fourth day of the nationwide protests in Iran, on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, the uprising entered a new phase, significantly featured by the growing convergence between popular demonstrations and the student movement. This convergence caused security forces to raid the dormitory of female students at the Melli University (Beheshti) and to arrest a large group of student activists.

According to reports, at 11:15 p.m. on Wednesday night, December 31, plainclothes agents and security forces raided the women’s dormitory of Melli University in Tehran (Beheshti) and arrested at least three female students.

Following the raid, large numbers of female and male students gathered outside the dormitory, chanting slogans such as “Death to the dictator” and “Shameless, shameless” in protest against the arrests. The raid took place after female students had begun a nighttime gathering and demonstration within the dormitory compound.

Full news story at https://wncri.org/2026/01/01/female-students-melli-university-beheshti/

Health Is a Privilege, Not a Right, for Low-Income Women in Iran

Women in Iran face healthcare inequality marked by poor services, systemic discrimination, and weak legal support, where health is treated as a privilege, not a right, demanding urgent policy reform for justice.

https://jinhaagency.com/en/actual/health-is-a-privilege-not-a-right-for-low-income-women-in-iran-38259

This should probably be in the existing thread about women in Iran having less and less access to health provision. But cant find it.

Also a podcast https://www.ksmu.org/podcast/talking-history/2026-01-01/irans-women-life-and-freedom-movement-with-fatemeh-jamalpour

From Masih Alinejad feed.

Masih Alinejad 🏳️ on X: "Watch How Unarmed People Force Security Forces to Run Away These moments will be remembered as powerful scenes from the Iranian people’s uprising against a corrupt and incompetent regime. Security forces thought they were clearing the main street near the bazaar (Se Rah-e https://t.co/v8F4SJBkE4" / X

The security forces picking on women, again, because they realise they stand no chance against the masses.

Things are starting to fall apart in Iran, women and children will most likely pay the biggest price because of it.

I wonder if Iran is now ready for another revolution? There really is only so much people can take before it becomes easy to step out into real danger. One would have thought the orthodoxy that treats women as chattels would have died out or at least shown signs of lessening. Fundamentalists, once in power only need to gradually remove rights. Start with scarf wearing and the rest will follow. The men are now out on the streets but because their living standards have been plummeting, not for women. The Shah's extravagance was unforgivable but what women have ended up with must be worse?

The situation in Iran is appalling. No wonder there are huge demonstrations every week all over the UK in support of freedom for the Iranian people ...

Yeah, and considering all these protests have been going on for several days already, it is so brilliant that it has been on the front page of bbc news all this time, too.

They had hours of coverage to fill once the Jews paused in their 'literal genocide' of Palestine, so it's good that the troubles in Iran came along when they did, otherwise we in the West wouldn't know anything about it. Good old bbc.

I never understand why instead of the issue everyone goes on about the BBC. Like other UK focused news stations eg ITN they rarely report issues in other countries. There is turmoil in any number of countries around the world at the moment, if you rely on UK focused news stations you wont hear anything about it.

But if you are interested in international news you should listen to the BBC world service, France 24 or Al Jazeera.

UK BBC news like ITN news responds to its audience.

UK citizens have little on no interest in other countries unless it is about film stars or musicians in the US.

The audience influences the decisions. Its a rating war. Nothing to do with political decisions.

And there have been reports prior to these demonstrations of women daring to go out without covering their heads. Although admittedly this is from an Israeli paper as the first one I found not behind a pay wall.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/irans-khamenei-defends-hijab-as-more-women-flout-strict-dress-code/ (3/12/25)

ITV barely registers in the UK, let alone internationally. The BBC, on the other hand isn’t just a state broadcaster, it has a global reach that no other broadcasting outlet can match. For decades, people around the world have relied on the BBC as one of the few sources of news they could trust. Its influence is so significant that it is banned in Iran because of its reporting on the 2023 anti‑government protests. Any Iranians with VPNs who are seeking news from the outside world aren’t tuning into ITV, they are tuning into the BBC, hoping that the only broadcaster, who can come close to being considered The International broadcaster, is telling the world what is happening to them. The BBC had a worldwide reputation and it threw it away, it deserves the criticizing that it's getting.

Well, they have a world option under news, so maybe it is not so strange that you would expect to see something like these significant protests in Iran there? Instead it was one piddling article until yesterday when the USA started to threaten retaliatory action.

Something also weird was going on earlier with the ukraine war being billed editorially as if ukraine were the agressors. That has since been rectified.

Yesterday the BBC front page had about 10 stories on Trump/Venezuela, and nothing at all on Iran.

Weird, no? Dunno what is going on there. They did mention 'unconfirmed deaths' in the article on Thursday. That doesn't normally stop them to report at least some of the ongoing stuff.

I am absolutely desperate for the brave Iranian people to overthrow the theocratic dictators who have made their lives a misery! Hoping with everything that this time they succeed