Is Brassiere (Bra) a Must For Women?

 

Chinwe Ifezulike-Odita.

 

A funny but ridiculous story made the news last week, that ladies were being arrested at Onitsha, Anambra State because they were not wearing bra. The people responsible for the arrest claimed to be Anambra State Task Force on Indecent Dressing.

 

However, Ify Obinabo, the commissioner for women and social welfare swiftly dissociated the state government from such acts and described it as “targeted at tarnishing the image of the state government.

 

According to  Daily Champion news, which carried the story, a lady was held hostage at Upper Iweka area of Onitsha over a purported offence of not wearing a bra and had to cough out N5000 to the self acclaimed revenue collectors, before they let her go. The commissioner had warned those involved in the act to  desist or  risk arrest and prosecution.

 

On women’s corner this week we decided to delve into the history of Brassiere as an all important piece of women’s clothing, and also get the views of women from all strata of life to talk about it’s importance, usefulness, demerits and as to if it must be worn by women.

 

Many women wear bra but few have an idea of the origin of this now ,all important piece of women’s clothing.

 

The origin of modern bra is credited to a then 19 year old lady, Mary Phelps Jacob( who is better known as Caresse Crosby) . Mary created the bra by using two handkerchiefs and some ribbon and patented it in 1914.

 

Before Mary however, women in ancient Greece and Rome wore garments to support their breasts and also in 1869, a French designer, Herminnie Cadolle created the first official bra by splitting a corset into two parts, a top to support the breasts and a bottom to shape the waist.

 

Most women believe that bra is a vital part of every woman’s dressing if she is to be decent.

 

“I wouldn’t dream of stepping out of my house without a bra but it’s not enough reason to arrest or harass anybody” said Mrs Ola, a CEO of a capital market firm in Lagos, who also sits on the board of about three or more companies. “It’s not ideal but there is no law against it ,so ladies are free to wear whatever they want and it’s illegal for anybody to arrest them” .

 

Obianuju, a nursery school teacher was of the opinion that arresting ladies that were not putting on bra was not a bad idea.

“It is proper that ladies should wear bra and pant before coming out to the streets.  What if one needs to run or hurry, they would now be throwing up their boobs patapata all over the place. Bra gives females proper feminine figure and helps women dress decently and comfortably. Not wearing it can promote abuse because, some men after seeing such ladies, can even be aroused to the extent that they can molest little girls if they can’t get the ladies. I support that ladies who refuse to wear bras should be arrested. And what about those with big breasts, do you know how ridiculous they would look without bra?, Uju asked.

 

For Mrs Ebube , a graduate  business owner and mother, bra is restrictive and hampers ones freedom.

“I am all for going bra- less and if it wasn’t for societal norms, I would endorse going bra- less at all times. Look at how comfortable and free, one feels when one is home and gets rid of the bra and panties”. Ebube however noted that decent society demands wearing of bra but insisted that there was no law against not wearing it.”

 

Ndochi, a young girl of 16, said, she would be mortified to be out on the streets without a bra but said it was unfair to arrest girls that do not wear. “People are different and our society should make room for that”.

 

As much as bra is a very important item of clothing for women, there are countries where most of the women don’t wear bra. India, Japan and Peru are some of such countries.

 

The women in these countries mentioned do not often wear bra even in public. In Peru, for instance, Ponchos and Shawls are traditional clothing and they are loose , and do not hug the wearers figure.

 

The women that wear traditional Peruvian clothing do not look indecent at all. The Indians wear Sari and do not look indecent.

For Nigerian women who  favour comfort over aesthetics, they may do themselves the favour of copying Peruvian women. It makes people, both men and women uncomfortable to see young girls clad in clothes that leave little to the imagination , just because, there is no law yet, that outlaws indecent dressing in the southern part of Nigeria.

Those trying to arrest and extort them are wrong but many believe that in the court of public opinion, the ladies going about dressed indecently, may not be presumed innocent, until proven guilty.

Ciao until next week.