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Is the Miniskirt Africa's Burning Bra?
September 19, 2008 1:44 PM
DANA HUGHES is an ABC News reporter covering Africa, based in Nairobi.
This week Uganda’s ethics and integrity minister, Nsaba Buturo, held a press conference to highlight the country’s biggest moral problems: theft and embezzlement, ineffective public services, prostitution, greed and infidelity, among others. But his greatest ire was reserved for…miniskirts. Yes, miniskirts.
According to Minister Buturo, short skirts cause traffic accidents because, as he sees it, some Ugandans are “weak mentally” and will be so distracted looking at the legs of women as to cause them to crash their vehicles. He claims miniskirts are akin to being naked. "If you find a naked person you begin to concentrate on the make-up of that person and yet you are driving," he said with all seriousness to a room full of snickering reporters. "These days you hardly know who is a mother from a daughter, they are all naked." If Minister Buturo has his way, miniskirts will be made illegal, part of a law against “indecent” dressing.
While his statements provided journalists and bloggers around the world with a good laugh, the matter of how modern African women dress is not always so funny. Last March, hundreds of women in South Africa took to the streets wearing short skirts and tight shirts in protest of sexual harassment, and in some cases assault, by taxi drivers who claimed women were “asking for it” by wearing such revealing clothing.
According to media reports the protesters chanted women’s rights songs and carried signs saying “We love our minis,” “There are no shortcuts to women’s rights,” and “We aren’t road signs, you need to respect us.” But the taxi drivers taunted and whistled at the women, many saying it’s against African culture for women to wear revealing clothing, and very few have been prosecuted for sexual assault and harassment.
Traditional values have also violently clashed with Western ideals in parts of Kenya, where the Mungiki sect, often described as a criminal gang priding itself on being based on Kikuyu tribal traditions, have publicly stripped women wearing mini-skirts, pants, or any other form of dressing members find “indecent.” During the lawlessness of the country’s post-election violence earlier this year, there were reports of several women being stripped and whipped.
While the majority of African governments and educated people do not expressly condone this behavior, highly-defined gender roles continue to exist – even among the educated class. Women, particularly living in urban environments, are redefining what it means to be an “African” woman. Dress is one of the most visible battlefronts, but traditional attitudes about domestic violence, salary equality, fidelity in marriage, and relationship roles in general, are all being challenged by the “modern” African woman.
They’ll tell you though, that these changes don’t necessarily mean they want to dress and act more Western, but that like women everywhere, they want the right to define themselves on their own, African, terms.
September 19, 2008 in Dana Hughes | Permalink | User Comments (5)
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This "morality fight" for purity has not improved these societies, only hampered them. Why restrict women so that men won't be agitated? Men are agitated anyway! The women that are covered head to toe wear Victoria's Secret underneath! Practice your religion at home and at your place of worship and impose restrictions on yourself and your family if you believe the external things will bring spiritual advancement. We are responsible for controlling our own thoughts. Restricting everything "immoral" does not bring peace in a society, it only masks the real problems.
Posted by: Gerald | Sep 19, 2008 4:33:22 PM
Why is it that when men cannot control themselves and act like wild animals, it is the womans fault?
Yet women are weak or scandalous?
Which is it?
Posted by: Takusan | Sep 20, 2008 1:17:35 PM
Whenever women are objectified by hiding their face or by quasi-nudity they are not really seen as a person.When women have on about the same amount of clothing as their male counterpoints they are seen more as fellow humans.
Posted by: mhm | Sep 21, 2008 10:27:43 PM
How is the hygiene these days there?
Posted by: Ernest | Oct 7, 2008 9:01:01 PM
There is nothing wrong about wearing mini skirt beacause both women wearing mini skirt and long abaya or burqa are being raped around the world..don't blame this on women..men are basically animals this is the truth..men should learn how to control their mind and the erection of their penis when they see women wearing mini skirts..because women don't rape men who wears underwear on billboards or swimming trunks on beaches because women's mind are more sobber then men! OOOUUCCHHH! Truth hurts!
Posted by: roej | Oct 8, 2008 6:59:59 AM
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