Now she is paralyzed

Iranian woman without a headscarf shot by police

Arezoo Badri is still in the intensive care unit of a police hospital in Tehran.(Bild: instagram.com/masih.alinejad/)

Once again, a woman in Iran has been subjected to police violence for not wearing her headscarf properly in public. 31-year-old Arezoo Badri was shot by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard for disregarding the dress code - the mother of two is now paraplegic.

Badri was allegedly traveling in her car without a headscarf in the city of Noor on July 22 when the police became aware of her. According to the BBC, the vice squad tried to stop her and confiscate her car. But the 31-year-old drove on, whereupon they opened fire on her.

The police first shot at the tire of the car, then the driver's side was targeted. According to the police, the windows were tinted. 

Bullet only removed after ten days
The young woman was shot in the back, "The bullet penetrated her lungs and severely damaged her spinal cord," an unnamed source told the broadcaster. Badri was first taken to a hospital in Noor and then transferred to a hospital in Sari, the provincial capital, for a lung operation. It was not until a week later that she was brought to Tehran. The bullet was only removed from her body after ten days.

Patient in police hospital under strict surveillance
"She is paralyzed from the waist down and the doctors have said it will take months to determine whether she will be permanently paralyzed or not," the source told the broadcaster. She is currently in the intensive care unit of the police-owned Vali-e-Asr Hospital and is under strict surveillance. Her family is only allowed to pay her short visits and she has to hand in her cell phones. Photos and videos of the patient are strictly forbidden - but the relatives apparently managed to take some anyway.