Bra ban in Somalia is the apex of zealotry nonsense

By Njoki Ndung’u The violent and ruthless ban of the brassier in Somalia by the Al Shabab is not a laughing matter. I have read the shocking narratives of how the edict allegedly made in the name of Islam is unleashing unimaginable terror among the women in Mogadishu. Elements of the puritanical-pretending militia are reportedly stopping women and girls in the street to physically confirm that they are not violating its latest ban of a garment with a rich history allegedly because it is un-Islamic. The apparent manner of ascertaining this is humiliating, insulting and disgusting. It is unimaginable that something so diabolical could be happening.I have gathered that "soldiers" of the sect stop women and girls with evidence of firm bust in the streets and ask them to jump up and down. From the resultant chest motion, the militants are reportedly able to isolate those wearing bra. The spot checks are indiscriminate in their execution. Mothers in the company of their children – including teenagers – are stopped in the middle of the road for the ordeal. Husbands are forced to witness their wives going through the embarrassment. Brothers stand by as their sisters are ordered at gunpoint to bounce their breasts up and down to the sharp eye of these fanatics. And the penalty for flouting this law is severe.The immediate thing is to strip them of the offending bra. These are then burnt in public as an example-setting warning to like-minded bra lovers. Yet with or without religion, Somalia, like any other African country, is traditionally moderate to conservative, where decorum and dignity between the sexes is cherished. You can imagine the agony and humiliation of a son watching his mother forced to remove her innerwear by the roadside. Forcing womenfolk to part – and thereby expose – their intimate wear publicly offends common decency.Forced removalThe forced removal of the bra is not enough punishment in the minds of the zealots. It must be followed by flogging. Masked men reportedly lead the violators to a whipping zone where the cane is applied mercilessly. Male relatives who have attempted to summon their honour to protest this indignity are said to have fared worse than those they sought to protect in the same hands of self-appointed Islamist disciplinarians. Besides suffering the same thrashing, some are said to have been jailed for resisting the dictates of Allah and man.The radicals’ beef with the bra is that it is an impure, un-Islamic and immoral foreign culture garment that distorts the natural order of humanity. They classify it with things like dancing, false teeth and a shaved beard that either give fake allure or arrest aging. Breasts, they argue, should be allowed to stand or fall depending on ones age and body structure. Wearing bra apparently interferes with this divine order of things. Turning to an unholy appendage to give them an accentuated shape is sinful and immoral deception, especially if it provokes sensual feelings.I read reactions to the bra ban and its strict enforcement. The common thread among bloggers, human rights activists and Muslim scholars is a general repugnance at the militant’s actions. The latter are viewed as atavistic, barbaric, perverted and wayward puritanists. It is blindly ignorant of the history and the pragmatic utility of the brassier. It negates overwhelming evidence of the costume intimate and universal relationship with women.The bra’s intrinsic value in a woman’s life is immeasurable. Women wear it for myriad reasons. Primarily, it comes in handy in supporting bosoms and for preserving modesty, especially in public places. You can imagine the scenes in offices and other meeting places if women did not wear this accessory. It is also useful in containing movement in, say, during physical exercises and sports, and in facilitating breast feeding for nursing mothers. Typically, bras are designed to lift the breasts off the chest and manage the sagging that is a normal consequence of aging. But unlike the Al Shaban doctrine, the need to contain the latter is not necessarily a natural wish to look sexier. A good reason is practical and therapeutic. Bras can be essential in managing pain associated with big busts among many women by affording them controlled support.Biology of breastsTo appreciate this, it is important to consider the biology of breasts. An average pair weighs around a kilogramme. Each breast contributes about four to five per cent of entire body fat. It means they represent nearly a per cent of an average woman’s total body weight. This could be significantly more in some, particularly well endowed women. Carrying around such weight unsupported could easily provoke health problems like bad posture, back and neck pains. Surely as it is, there are plenty of woes for your average woman without the bra.If we are to live in a society where good governance, democracy and respect for human rights apply, we must be vigilant and condemn acts of violence and humiliation against women and children. Just this last week, widows suspected to be witches were stripped naked and beaten in India.Only this year, women in Nepal were stripped and dragged naked in the streets for wearing clothes considered to be indecent. No one came out to protect and defend them. These incidents have happened several times in Kenya. Yet the silence so far is deafening. Or is it deliberately and cruelly accommodating?

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