Bailee poured herself a large glass of wine and sat on her couch to read again her company's travel guide to Jumania after she packed her bag for her two-week assignment. She knew that it was one of the most authoritarian countries in the world and was well-known for their weird laws and customs. She packed only plain clothes, without any cleavage, and some essential products like a toothbrush, some perfume and a few body lotions.
She took a pen and started to underline the most important aspects from the travel guide, thinking that she can't wait to return back home. "Do not wear anything revealing", "Use only simple make-up, but it is best if you can avoid wearing any make-up at all", "Avoid any alcohol, tobacco or other recreational drugs", the guide was filled with interdictions and Bailee did her best to remember all the points, because she read horror stories with tourists that broke the law there. Moreover, women were treated as second-class citizens, and those who are deemed as "easy" are severely punished and humiliated.
After she finished her glass of wine, she went straight to bed and set up her alarm at 6AM sharp. She woke up feeling tired and went to brush her teeth. She didn't put any make-up on and she dressed in a simple long-sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans. As she grabbed her bag, she took a cigarette to smoke outside her appartment building as she waited for a taxi to the airport. Everything went well with the check-in process and she boarded her flight, which arrived 30 minutes late at Jumania's main and only airport.
She got in line to have her passport checked and sat there playing nervously with her tiny ring, the only piece of jewlery that she took with her. It seemed like everyone at the airport was looking weirdly at her but she knew from the guide that Jumanians were not too fond of foreigners. When she arrived at the passport desk, the airport staff took her passport and scanned it.
"What's the purpose of your visit?"
"Business," stated Bailee briefly. "You can find all the documents for my trip here," she said after handing a small dossier to the staff.
The staff looked over the dossier checking it thoroughly before handing it back to Bailee. They looked again at the passport and then back at her for a few times.
"Okay, you're cleared, please proceed." They handed the passport back to her, but as she reached to grab it, she revealed a portion of her forearm and she saw the staff taking a short glimpse at it. She then proceeded to the luggage area and searched the conveyor belt assigned to her flight, taking a look back at the passport desk, hearing the staff talk something on their radios. She waited a few minutes for her baggage to arrive and then she looked for the exit. When she approached the exit, two female officers approached her.
"Please follow us, miss, this is a routine baggage check. We'll have to open and search your luggage," one officer said. Bailee didn't worry, this has happened before on her travels, and she knew she didn't pack anything suspicious or illegal. She memorized the travel guide by heart after all. The two officer took Baile to a small room, with a table in the middle and asked her to open her luggage. She grabbed a small key from her wallet and opened the tiny lock on her luggage. The two officer then looked closely at all her clothes and opened every single pocket in her luggage, while Bailee was waiting patiently.
"Okay, everything is good," said one officer while handing the luggage back to Bailee. "Miss, please roll up your sleeves and hold your arms in front of you," asked the second officer.
"Sorry, can you please repeat? Roll up my sleeves? What for?" Bailee said surprised.
"As you should know, the country of Jumania has a zero-tolerance policy on body hair as of last month. All women should not present any kind of body hair while inside the territory of the country, so please roll up your sleeves, miss."
Bailee started to panic, because that was definately not present in the travel guide and she never shaved or waxed her arms in her entire life. She tried to convince the officers that this has to be some kind of mistake, she even showed them the travel guide from her company, but they didn't care, stating that not knowing the law does not make you exempt from it. Seeing she has no other choice, Bailee rolled up her sleeves revealing her lightly tanned forearms. The sun reflected on the light brunette hair covering her forearms which turned into a gentle peachfuzz abovd the elbow and up to her shoulder. She raised her arms in front of her while the officers watched closely grinning.
"Miss, you are in violation of the Jumanian Penal Code by having body hair on your arms. You have the right to say nothing, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." said one officer while taking out a pair of metal handcuffs and approaching Bailee.
"Wait, no, please, this has to be some kind of mistake, can I please contact the embassy, or I will just fly back, please!" Bailee tried ad begged for the officers to let her sort out this issue.
"You americans, think you can get away with anything. You should have shaved those disgusting hairy arms, now move it!" said the officer while she grabbed her arms and handcuffed them, pushing Bailee against the wall. They took her out of that small room and walked her in handcuffs for everyone at the airport to see, down to the basement, where a long hallway with cells on each side was located. Bailee was so ashamed to be seen in handcuffs, especially since she knew that she did nothing wrong. She tried and begged for the officers to let her go but that only angered them further.
The officers walked her to a cell at the back of the hallway and pushed her inside, taking off her handcuffs. Inside the cell, there were four bunk beds, and inside, two women, in their early 20s, around the same age as Bailee. The officers slammed the door and turned back to leave telling Bailee that this is where she is going to wait for her trial.
"Please, wait, you can't keep me in here, I have rights, I am an American citizen, I demand to speak to my embassy!" shouted Bailee desperately.
The officers turned back and looked at her with an angry look on their face. They opened the cell door and entered.
"Oh, you have rights, huh? I'll show you what rights hairy American prostitutes like yourself have here!" one officer said loudly while the other two in the cell got up from their beds and stood straight up when the officers entered.
One officer grabbed Bailee's arm and turned her around with her back towards the center of the cell. She then grabbed a pair of handcuffs and tied one cuff to the frame of the upper bed and the other cuff to Bailee's arm. She then proceeded to do the same on the other side of the bed, leaving Bailee tied up with her arms stretched to the bed's frame.