Under Iran's Islamic legal code, women are required to wear a headscarf and long clothes that cover the arms and legs
A BRAVE Iranian woman who hit out at her homeland's strict religious dress code by waving her hijab in public is said to be missing and feared arrested, a lawyer claimed.
The 31-year-old mum has not been seen in public since she stood on a pillar box along one of Tehran's busiest street without a headscarf, a campaigning lawyer told AFP.
She had taken off her white hijab and tied it to a stick in an apparent reference to the "White Wednesday" protests against clothing restrictions on women in Iran.
Not covering your hair in public is a punishable offence for Iranian women, and the unnamed protester is now feared to have been arrested by state police.
Under Iran's Islamic legal code, women are required to wear a headscarf and long clothes that cover the arms and legs. Breaking the rules can bring fines of up to 500,000 rials (£8) and up to two months in prison.
However, many of those are viciously beaten before they even go before the courts.
Now a renowned Iranian lawyer has raised concern over the fate of a woman who appeared in images which went viral around the world.
Thousands of social media users have shared the messages, dubbing her the "Girl of Enghelab Street" after the area in central Tehran where she staged the protest. The hashtag "Where_is_she?" quickly went viral.
Nasrin Sotoudeh, a famous Iranian human rights lawyer, said she went to Enghelab Street to investigate.
Sotoudeh said could not find out the woman's name, but was told she was 31 years old and had a 19-month-old baby.
"What I am certain about is that this lady has been arrested," she told AFP.
"The witnesses on the scene who saw her being taken away and even accompanied her to the police station gave me this information. I have no contact with her family."
Sotoudeh said the woman's protest appeared to show someone "at the end of their tether because of all the controls placed on her body over the 31 years of her life".
"Women feel they have no control over their bodies. It is a prelude to infringing on all of their rights," she said.