September 06, 2019
A Tehran woman has been arrested and hauled in by the Morality Police for the crime of failing to wear a bra, which, according to the unit, is a crime because it “arouses men.”
The woman, who was arrested July 26, is named Narges. She didn’t want to give her full name to protect her privacy, IranWire reported. “I take medication because of acute fibrocystic disease,” she said. “After all these years my body has reacted to the medication and my skin has become sensitive, but I must go on taking the medication so that the disease will not spread. I feel a lot of pain both on my skin and in my breasts. I do not wear bras at home, at work or even at parties. It is not important to me if somebody asks me about it. I always say that I have grown morally because of my illness. I no longer look at my body or anybody else’s as an ideal.”
Fibrocystic breast disease, common among women, is a condition that affects breasts and underarms. The breast becomes lumpy and full of cysts, which are noncancerous but can cause acute pain, especially just before and during menstruation, and wearing bras can intensify this pain.
Narges, a photographer, says that the body and nakedness is not a taboo for her because most of her subjects are human beings with ordinary bodies. “That day [of the arrest] I left home in my usual outfit,” she said, “a roomy and open-front manteau and a very long shawl that completely covered the front of my body. I came out of the Ferdowsi Metro station and, before I had taken a few steps, three chador-clad Morality Patrol women pulled on my manteaux and my shawl was pushed aside. The moment that they noticed my nipples, one of the women angrily asked for my ID. I did not have it with me, so she took my banking card and quickly shoved me into the van.”
As Narges and the policewomen were driving toward Vozara Avenue, where Tehran’s Morality Police are based, Narges tried to explain that she could not wear a bra because of her condition, but they would not listen. When they reached their destination, she said, “I called my doctor and the doctor explained to them the situation. But it was no use and they told me that I had to stay there. It was as if they had caught a burglar!
“One of them, with a shocked face full of disgust, grabbed me and threw me out of the room. In the end, they forced me to sign a pledge that I would not do it again. And then I could go.”
