Minis are here to stay, better get used to them, say women

There it is, everywhere you look, riding above the knees and for the brave, much higher. But for the daring, it is not complete without a slit, lending it an even more provocative look.

Since the mini-skirt or mini hit the fashion scene in the 60s, women took to it like fish in water and from then on, it arguably became one of the few fashion statements that have stood the test of time.

Here, at last, was something that fully brought out a woman’s femininity. In it, she commanded attention, felt powerful and beautiful and left the men mesmerised, hearts pounding with excitement and endless possibilities.

Recently, the mini has been getting a hard beating, at least on the African front. In neighbouring Uganda, the Ethics and Integrity minister, Dr Nsaba Buturo, is seeking to have it banned because, according to him, it easily distracts men and is, therefore, highly likely to cause road accidents.

“What’s wrong with a mini-skirt? You can cause an accident because some of our people (men) are weak mentally,” he told journalists during a press conference.

According to Dr Buturo, there is no difference between a naked woman and one wearing a mini. He said that it was indecent and should be punishable by law.

But he wasn’t through with the ills of the mini, charging that nowadays it is difficult to tell between mothers and their daughters because they all walk “naked”.

Calling on the implementation of the ban, the minister compared the mini to other vices such as theft, embezzlement of public funds, sub-standard service delivery, greed, infidelity, prostitution, homosexuality and sectarianism.

Earlier this year, Makerere University imposed a dress code for women at the institution, banning minis and tight trousers.

As expected, this and the recent remarks from the Ugandan minister raised an uproar and protests not only from the Ugandan women, but also from their Kenyan counterparts and others all over the world.

Since last week, the subject has made juicy fodder for countless blogs around the world, with outraged women shredding the minister’s arguments to bits.

Majority of them said that dictating what women should wear amounts to trampling on their freedom of expression. The feminists have gone a step further and suggested that banning the mini is a conspiracy by men to suppress women.

This is how one blogger responded to the story: “Personally, I feel that if men are compelled to look at women in mini-skirts while driving, then they should be restricted to night driving unless they take a defensive driving course on how not to look at women in mini-skirts.

"I am tired of male weaknesses. It makes me think that if women cause accidents because of staring at men, the Ugandans would probably argue that they be banned from driving.”

While most of the men we spoke to had no problem with women wearing the short skirts, they were quick to add that some women go overboard by “wearing tiny pieces of clothing that barely covered their bodies,” as one man put it.

The men also said that they were likely to associate women who wore minis with loose morals, arguing that no decent woman favours skimpy dressing.

Referring to his psychology lessons at university, one claimed that women who wear minis and other revealing clothes are just craving attention.

“I believe that wearing mini-skirts and other revealing clothes is a sign of earlier deprivation,” he said, adding that he would readily support the implementation of a code of decent dressing for women.

Going overboard

A couple of men supported the Ugandan minister’s call for a ban on the mini, saying that it should extend to Kenya. “As much as women are entitled to freedom of expression, many abuse this freedom by going overboard.

What is the purpose of getting out of the house wearing something that barely covers the bottoms?” another wondered.

However, most of the men did not agree with the minister’s charge that a woman in a mini could distract them enough to cause an accident. One man termed it as “rubbish”, stating that how a man reacts to revealing dressing is all in the mind.

But in the midst of all the protests, the men were unanimous — they did enjoy staring at women in miniskirts.

If you asked Kenyan women, their Ugandan counterparts have nothing to complain about because no one has undressed them in public for wearing the forbidden skirt. In the past, there have been reports of Kenyan men undressing women they felt were indecently dressed in public.

“The Ugandan women should count themselves lucky because here, men strip us naked when we wear short skirts,” one woman charged.

Early this year, there was an upsurge of such incidents in several parts of the country.

In Naivasha, Limuru, Thika and Kiambu towns, women wearing short skirts and trousers were caught off-guard when a gang of men descended on them and proceeded to undress them.

At the same time, the gang said to be Mungiki, also threatened to do the same in Nairobi, forcing many fearful women to abandon their trousers and short skirts for a few days. Mungiki adherents believe that women should wear skirts, and long ones at that.

The Federation of Women Lawyers even had to step in, urging the police to enhance security and crack down on the illegal gangs.

Speaking at the time, the organisation’s chairperson Violet Awori said that this kind of harassment was not only unlawful, but also barbaric and had no place in modern society.

Intimidation and molestation attracts a sentence not exceeding three years, but this does not seem to be deterrent enough nor does it make women feel confident and safe to don whatever they want.