Chapter Sixteen - You Can’t Wear That

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

You Can’t Wear That

EVERY COUNTRY HAS fashion rules.
But in some places, they’re enforced by more than stares.
They’re enforced by law.

This isn’t just about modesty.
It’s about fear, power, and identity.

Because when the state tells you what to wear, it’s really telling you who you’re allowed to be.

Let’s start with the most extreme.

In France, the burqa and niqab are banned in public.
The law claims it’s about “secularism.”
But it only targets one group: Muslim women.

If you wear a full face veil, you can be fined.
Police can stop you, question you, and ticket you for it.
The state says it’s defending freedom.
By restricting it.

In Iran, it’s the opposite.
Not wearing a hijab is illegal.
It’s mandatory from puberty onward.
Hair must be covered.
Body must be concealed.
The morality police patrol the streets to make sure.

Women have been beaten, arrested, and even killed for “improper dress.”
Not because they were naked.
Because they wore their hair like it was theirs.

In Sudan, for years, wearing pants used to get women flogged.
Literally.
Public beatings for trousers.

The law claimed it was about decency.
But it was really about obedience.

In North Korea, jeans are banned.
So is anything “Western.”
So are miniskirts, leather jackets, and branded T-shirts.

Fashion there isn’t personal expression.
It’s political allegiance.

Meanwhile, in Japan, there are schools where students must dye their naturally brown hair black, because black hair is “standard.”
It’s not a law, but it’s enforced like one.

You’re allowed to exist as long as you don’t look different.

In Myanmar, schoolgirls are banned from wearing hijabs.
In Uzbekistan, the government discourages religious dress.
In Sri Lanka, face coverings that hide identity were banned after terrorist attacks.

The line is always the same:
Your clothes make us uncomfortable.
So you must change.
Not us.

And it’s not just religious clothing.
It’s symbolic clothing.

In Germany, Nazi symbols like swastikas, SS uniforms, and Hitler salutes are illegal.
For obvious reasons.
But in China, wearing anything that references Tiananmen Square or democracy movements can get you arrested.

In Russia, rainbow flags and LGBTQ-themed fashion are banned in public under “gay propaganda” laws.
Even wearing certain colors together, like rainbow armbands, is seen as protest.

In Thailand, wearing red shirts was once considered treasonous.
Because that color was tied to opposition movements.
Clothing = allegiance.
Color = crime.

Even cosplay gets policed.

In Turkey, dressing up like Atatürk in parody is illegal.
In Saudi Arabia, wearing Halloween costumes can be labeled as promoting “Western deviance.”
In Iran, women dressing as male characters for conventions have been detained.

Fantasy is only allowed if it obeys reality.
And reality is owned by the state.

So what’s really being banned?

Not just fabrics.
Not just colors.
Not even modesty.

What’s being banned is difference.
Freedom.
Ownership of the body.
Control of identity.

Because clothes aren’t just clothes.
They’re statements.

And the people in charge?
They hear those statements loud and clear.