You can no longer wear these. Image: Sowetan |
Police in Africa's last absolute monarchy Swaziland have banned women from wearing miniskirts and midriff-revealing tops, saying they provoke rape, local media reported on Monday.
Offenders
face a six-month jail term under the ban, which invokes a colonial criminal act
dating back to 1889.
"The act of the rapist is made easy, because it would be easy to remove the half-cloth worn by the women," police spokeswoman Wendy Hleta was quoted as saying in the Independent Online news.
The
ban also applies to low-rise jeans.
"They
will be arrested," she said.
Hleta
said women wearing revealing clothing were responsible for assaults or rapes
committed against them.
"I
have read from the social networks that men and even other women have a
tendency of 'undressing people with their eyes'. That becomes easier when the
clothes are hugging or are more revealing," Hleta said.
However,
the ban does not apply to traditional costumes worn by young women during
ceremonies like the annual Reed Dance, where the ruling King Mswati III chooses
a wife.
The
flamboyant king already has 13 wives.
During
the ceremony, beaded traditional skirts worn by young bare-breasted virgins
only cover the front, leaving the back exposed. Underwear is not allowed.
The
law was enforced after a march by women and young girls last month calling for
protection against a spate of rapes in the impoverished kingdom, almost
entirely surrounded by South Africa.
1 comment:
That's so wrong. People have a right to dress the way they want so long as they are not naked.
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