When did Kenyan men become fashion police?

Unless you have been living under a rock, you must be aware of the #MyDressMyChoice campaign that has taken Nairobi by storm. And you have also witnessed first-hand the many different opinions that everyone seems to have about what a woman chooses to wear.

I cannot understand why men should be concerned with what woman choose to wear. I have in the last one week listened to all the justifications and reasons given by men who believe the woman stripped for dressing indecently deserved it, and to say the least, I am appalled.

The first group comprised self- righteous types who claimed that women dress scantily these days and that they deserved to be humiliated in public by being stripped to their birthday suit.

Men who belong to this school of thought believe that women nowadays walk round exposing their bodies to everyone, and by so doing they distract men and infringe upon their rights.

Decency is subjective

And while hiding behind the excuse of indecency is all fine and dandy, it is also limiting because who decides what decent is? Decency is subjective. And what may be indecent to you is not indecent to me.

So what is indecent, is it a skirt that reaches the knee? Is it a skirt that is slightly above the knee or one that rides just below the butt? Is it a skirt that is form fitting or is it one that is free fitting?

 Stone Age

What of body shape and size, will that also come into consideration?

Currently, it looks like men seem to think it is their duty to decide because they imagine women cannot possibly know what we should wear.

Differently put, men have assigned themselves the fashion cops; and they not only arrest and prosecute, but also issue judgment and punishment! Jeez!

Then we have another group that suffers from a Stone Age hangover, they look at everything from a traditionalist point of view.

Very pretentious lot, if you ask me. They misguidedly claim that according to our African traditions women are supposed to be all covered up.

I just have one question: What about the era not too long ago when women walked around naked save for a piece of leather that was worn only over their privates, leaving very little to the imagination?

And then there is the group who I call ‘haters of female independence’. Men who seem to despise the independence of modern women. Men who cannot stand the fact that women today have choices.

Finally, there is the lot who think that we are involved in some kind of war of the sexes; this is not a war of the sexes; this is about human dignity and protecting women’s choices.

I ask these men, what if it was your daughter, your mother, your sister, your aunt or your wife who was stripped, how would you feel?

I will say this time and time again and never tire, any man who thinks it is justifiable for a woman to be stripped and humiliated because of her choice of dress code is not man enough or worthy of my respect.