In Mogadishu, Somalia, there are Muslim extremists patrolling the streets and whipping people acting “inappropriately.” For men, this means not having a beard. For women, this means wearing a bra.

Someone can look at a man and determine if he has a beard or not. To find out if women “have natural firmness or if there is assistance from a bra,” the extremists are making them shake their breasts and otherwise publicly scrutinize their breasts. The Australian Herald reports this is sometimes being done at gunpoint. The Daily Mail quotes a woman saying,  “

“‘Al Shabaab forced us to wear their type of full veil and now they order us to shake our breasts,’ a resident, Halima, told Reuters, adding that her daughters had been whipped on Thursday. They  are now saying that breasts should be firm naturally, or just flat.'”

While both reasons for whipping people are ridiculous, at least a man who wants to “play by the rules” can grow a beard and everyone will see that he has grown one.  But women who “play by the rules” and don’t wear a bra still risk being publicly humiliated by this invasive scrutiny to determine whether or not they are wearing a bra.

I’ve never heard of someone being made to shake their breasts because the oppressor viewed a bra as bad — have you? Has this happened or does it happen any where else?