Al-Zahra and Allameh Tabataba'i universities: entry bans and hijab pressure on students

On the morning of Sunday 18 October 2026, Al-Zahra University in Tehran stopped more of its students from entering, without any prior notice. At the same time, the security office of the Faculty of Literature at Allameh Tabataba'i University has resumed its treatment of female students under the pretext of dress and compulsory hijab. The information was published by the Amirkabir Newsletter, one of the independent student media.

According to the report, 165 students of Al-Zahra University had already been barred from entering before the new wave. The number of students turned away on Sunday has not been announced. At Allameh Tabataba'i University, the security office has brought in new personnel to enforce compulsory dress, but female students have resisted the pressure.

Entry bans without notification at Al-Zahra University

The crackdown on students at Al-Zahra University, the largest women's university in Iran, began months ago. In July 2026, the United Students group announced that nearly 100 students of the university had been barred from entering, and that the university neither officially notifies students of entry bans and summonses to the disciplinary committee nor of the committee's ruling after they defend themselves. According to the group, students and their families have received threatening calls, and dormitory residents have been thrown out of the dormitory without any deadline. The figure reaching 165 within three months shows that this process has not only not stopped but has spread.

Universities under security pressure

These reports follow a wave of security crackdowns on universities after the January uprising. A few days ago, the Islamic Republic's Ministry of Science cut ties with Farzad Kolbali, a University of Tehran lecturer, over "subversive" material. The football league organization also recently banned men from attending women's football matches, a sign of the authorities' broader harshness toward women in public spaces. The Assembly of Experts had also earlier called for firm enforcement of the compulsory-hijab law.

In its human rights reports on Iran, the US State Department has listed the crackdown on universities, the detention of student activists and the barring of students from education among the serious restrictions on freedom of expression and association in Iran.

In three months, the number of students barred from Al-Zahra University has risen from about 100 to more than 165.