Like any teenage girl turning 16, Tala Raassi wanted to celebrate her birthday with her friends and some fun music. However, Tala was living in Iran, where the government not only enforces a strict dress code for women, but also forbids them from gathering with men who aren't related or from listening to unapproved music. It was not long before the party Tala attended was raided and she was carted off to jail.

Tala spent five days in prison before finally receiving her punishment for the crime. She would receive 40 lashes for not wearing the right clothing and for listening to western music. Tala, now 27, still gets emotional talking about the horrific beating, but says that moving back to the United States with her family after the incident opened up a whole new positive world to her. "I saw people walking around everywhere so free and free-spirted," she says. "It made me realize that women are so beautiful, and I realized that I wanted to start my own clothing line."

Once determined to be a lawyer, Tala charted another course and started her own line of fashion called Dar Be Dar, with the goal of spreading a simple message of encouragement to women everywhere, to "be free and enjoy themselves."

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Dar Be Dar by Tala Raassi