Banned Beauty 2016-2018 الجمال الممنوع

A long term visual project about the hidden practice of breast ironing in Cameroon where one out of five girls is a teenage mother.

Breast ironing is a traditional practice that involves massaging or pressing the breasts of pubescent girls in order to suppress or reverse breast development. The practice is carried out in the belief that it helps prevent rapes or sexual advances. Breast ironing is usually done by the girl’s mother or an older relative. Techniques differ from region to region. Some people bind the breasts with a belt, others heat a grinding stone, spatula or pestle and use it to press or massage the breasts. Mothers explain that the painful procedure is an act of love, to make sure their daughters don’t get pregnant and miss out on school or jobs.