Tearing of Garment by a Woman in Mourning
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Question
Is a woman obligated to tear her garment for her relatives as a man is?
Answer
A woman is obligated to tear her garment just as a man is. When tearing for other relatives, she tears only the outer garment in private and secures it with a safety pin. When tearing for her father and mother, she should tear the inner garment (by a woman) and turn it backwards or secure it with a safety pin, and then tear the outer garment. If the inner garment is for absorbing sweat, like a tank top, she only needs to tear the outer garment and secure it with a safety pin. The tearing of the outer garment for her father and mother should be done in the presence of a woman or a member of the Chevra Kadisha.
Source
In the Gemara Moed Katan 22b, after presenting the laws of tearing and the differences between tearing for one's father and mother versus other relatives, it states: "The same law applies to both men and women. Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says a woman tears the inner garment and turns it backwards, then tears the outer garment."
The Shulchan Aruch in Siman 340, paragraph 11, quotes the words of the Tanna Kama along with the opinion of the Rashba, holding that they do not disagree, but Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar is explaining how a woman should tear for her father and mother. In the Jerusalem Talmud (brought in the commentary of the Gra), it is held that the one who disagrees with the Rashba believes that a woman even for her father and mother tears only the outer garment, because it is not possible otherwise. In Aruch HaShulchan, Siman 340, paragraph 10, it is held that in our times it is impossible to turn the garments, and they are not similar to the garments of their times, therefore it is permissible to be lenient and allow a woman to tear only the outer garment, even for her father and mother. The law follows the Shulchan Aruch, and there are those who are lenient like the Aruch HaShulchan.
Therefore, when she wears an inner garment made for sweat, she certainly does not need to turn it, and although the Shach in Subparagraph 22 wrote that there is still an issue of modesty when the undergarment is exposed, it is still permissible to be lenient with a safety pin. And it is permitted to secure with a safety pin, as explained in the Gemara, that a woman immediately secures it for her dignity.
As for what I wrote that the tearing of the outer garment for her father and mother is done in public, it is explained in Siman 340, paragraph 13, and there is an opinion that if the tearing was done in private for her father and mother, it is not valid.