When Mandana Karimi ‘got judged’

In 2015-16, when the Free the Nipple movement gained traction and attracted attention around the world, it left an instant impression on many women, including on Mandana Karimi. But when the model-actor tried to do a similar experiment in Mumbai, she ended up receiving a lot of flak.

A source close to the actor says, “Recently, Mandana had put up a picture on her social media account minus a bra, which created quite a stir, and she was slammed with a number of acidic comments. Then, a few days back, when she took a stroll down a lane in Bandra, she was taken aback that not just men but women also stared and sneered at her for not wearing a piece of innerwear.”

Mandana, on her part, says she is extremely surprised with such reactions. She says, “You know, at the start of summers, I had cut my hair short keeping in mind the summers, but for that too, I got flak from women, who were like, ‘It’s not very feminine’. But the boys found it cool.” She adds that she was again judged when she and her friends decided to go ahead with Free the Nipple movement in their own way.

“It was quite shocking that a majority of women took offense, and I even heard them passing comments. I see no harm in walking down the road minus a piece of lingerie, but people should learn how to broaden their horizons. Irrespective of what women do, they always get judged. That thinking needs to be changed,” she says.