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In the last two weeks, the media has been abuzz over the issue of shameless stripping of women in broad daylight. The vicious public attacks are based on the fact that these women were indecently dressed. I refuse to believe that ‘indecency’ should lead to violence against women. There are places, even here in Kenya, where women still walk topless, and no man violates them.
Now, while I applaud decency, no one has the right to enforce it using force or violence. Stripping a woman for her choice of dressing is barbaric and retrogressive. This is the year 2014, for God’s sake, why would anyone want to humiliate a woman in public? No man has a right to touch a woman without her consent. The Constitution protects us against such acts: Article 27 (4) and (5)
• The State shall not discriminate directly or indirectly against any person on any ground, including race, sex, pregnancy, marital status, health status, ethnic or social origin, colour, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, dress, language or birth.
• A person shall not discriminate directly or indirectly against another person on any of the grounds specified or contemplated in clause (4).
Now, the hooligans who stripped the women violated the law and I hope they will eventually face the law. What happened to the strides women in Kenya have made in matters gender equity? No man has ever been undressed for sagging his trousers or even peeing in the open.
Undressing an ‘indecently’ dressed woman in public is not the solution. It is retrogressive; there are more civilized ways to handle such matters. Public indecency cannot be solved by public humiliation. That woman could be your sister, daughter, wife or mother.
On the flip side, they say perception is reality. How we dress determines how society perceives us. Yes your dress is your choice and each person has their style. Let’s rock our minis but with decency. For the shameless, primitive rogues who strip women in public, may they face the wrath of the law.
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