And ultimately, “breast ironing” is ineffective, as it does not stop breasts from developing. The “breast ironing” process itself is painful and may make girls feel ashamed of their bodies. “It's been two years now and she still checks it on a daily basis. "Every morning, before going to school, my mom makes me lift up my top so she can make sure I haven't taken my bandage off,” a 14-year-old Cameroonian girl told French photographer Gildas Paré, whose project Plastic Surgery Dream spotlights victims of the practice.
Though “breast ironing” is intended to protect girls from unwanted sexual advances, the practice can be both physically and emotionally traumatic. While studies have found that “breast ironing” is practiced in Chad, Guinea Bissau, Togo, and Benin, it is most common in Cameroon, where nearly a quarter of girls and women have had their breasts “ironed.” Cases have also been reported in the UK and as many as 1,000 girls from West African immigrant communities in the UK are believed to have undergone “breast ironing,” The Week reported. Take Action: Tell World Leaders to Redouble Their Efforts By Amending Laws to Prevent Sexual Violence “Breast ironing,” like “female genital mutilation” is a practice that has been perpetuated for the “good” of girls. In order to prevent girls’ breasts from growing, mothers may also wrap bandages tightly around their daughters’ chests. The practice is also known as “breast flattening” or “breast sweeping,” according to Newsweek.
When girls start showing signs of puberty, mothers begin “ironing” their breasts, using heated tools like stones, spatulas, and pestles to pound or massage their chests, in an attempt to prevent them from developing. But for approximately 3.8 million girls around the world that anxiety turns to anguish, as the start of adolescence brings with it a practice called “breast ironing.” For many girls around the world the onset of puberty represents a time of uncertainty, even anxiety, as their bodies change.
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