YouTube/The LAME Channel

To protest the upcoming ban on lace panties in Russia, slated to take effect on July 1, women demonstrated on the streets of Almaty City, Kazakh, by wearing the sheer underwear on their heads while chanting "Freedom to panties."

As a result of their show of defiance, several protesters were allegedly arrested, reported All Voices.

The basis of the new law, crafted in 2010 by the Eurasian Economic Commission and includes Kazakhstan and Belarus, according to the Moscow Times, is to ensure that the women's groin areas could "breathe" in their underwear, thus the 6 per cent threshold for absorption which lace panties fail to meet since their breathability level is said to be only 3 to 4 per cent.

The female are angry that even what they wear underneath their skirts (or pants) is being subjected to law and accused the Russian authorities of sexism.

Because of the looming ban, Russian, Kazakhstan and Belarus women are reportedly buying the lace panties in bulk as it would soon be no longer available, but retailers continue to sell the underwear as if there is no forthcoming prohibition. Underwear making and retailing is a $4-billion industry in Russia which will be hit hard if the ban is implemented in July. The Russian Textile Businesses Union estimated 80 per cent of these items are imported such as these lingerie from Canada.

YouTube/Selftemptation.com Lingerie

The Russian industry and trade minister promised the women he would work to repeal the law, which former U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton described as an attempt to "re-Sovietize the region."

A Russian bank manager slammed the government for focusing on a petty issue "as if all other issues in the country are solved."

All Voices asked how would the government plan to implement the law. Would it strip search all females every time they enter a building? Would it confiscate the lace underwear if a woman was found wearing one? Would it have a cotton-made panty available for the woman to wear in the meantime throughout the rest of the day?

Ironically, while the lace underwear ban looms, some female athletes from Russia posed in their underwear to promote the Sochi Winter Olympics. Did the female athletes wear lace or cotton panties in the photoshoot? Click here to find out.

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