An Indian-origin woman has alleged she was humiliated at an airport in Germany and was told to squeeze her breast to prove she was lactating.
33-year-old Gayathiri Bose who lives in Singapore was to board a flight to Paris from Frankfurt airport when she was asked to come aside after a breast pump showed up in an Xray scan of her handbag.
She said the officials, not believing that the device she was carrying was a breast pump, took her to a room where a woman official asked her to show her breast and hand express milk.
"They had an incredulous tone. 'You are breastfeeding? Then where is your baby? Your baby is in Singapore?', she told the BBC.
"She asked me to open up my blouse and show her my breast. She then asked how come I didn't have anything attached to my breast if I was lactating and expressing breastmilk," added Ms Bose.
Ms Bose, a manager with a transport company in Singapore, said she was so shocked that only after she came out of the room that she realised what had happened to her.
"When they finally cleared me of the matter, I told them that this is not the way to treat someone. I said 'Do you know what you just did to me, you made me show my breast.'
She was cleared to board the flight after the officials tested her breast pump.
Christian Altenhofen, a spokesman for the German federal police unit at Frankfurt Airport, told the BBC that he could not comment on the incident "for reasons of data protection".
"If a suspected explosive is detected at an air safety control point, the baggage and the person must be searched. The measures you have described for a breastfeeding mother are clearly not included," he added.
Ms Bose said she felt humiliated and would explore legal options to take action against the officials.
Ms Bose’s three-year-old child and 7-month-old baby weren’t travelling with her.
