''There was the sex change craze that started in Iran, and the fact that it was completely supported by the goverment, the Islamic government. I think it was in the early 1980s that the Ayatolla Khomeini gave a fatwa, legalizing the sex change... A few years later, all these men -- some women as well -- were expressing desire to have a sex change... Most of them tend to come from quite traditional families as well. So, suddenly, their parents, who are very tradtional -- in their eyes, this is an awful thing to happen -- have to deal with this given that their own moral leader has also approved it.... Iran is the rhinoplasty (nose job) capital of the world. America is the fat removal capital of the world. I'm not making this up.''

Mehrdad Seyf, Writer and Director of ''Plastic,'' a unique piece of theatre at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival that explores the sexual reassignment surgery in Iran. (BBC: The Ticket)