There was a time when Zimbabwean women had to be extremely careful about how they dressed in public. Cover up, or they (men) would take it off. Wearing wrap-over skirts, shorts and, of course, mini-skirts was just asking for trouble. Even tight fitting hipsters were a big no-no.

Recently it seemed that women were more able to dress liberally in the central business district (CBD). Women of all ages, shapes and sizes wear tight trousers, squeeze into skinny jeans, dress in short ‘dress-tops’ with leggings or jeggings, and even shorts now, without fearing for their safety. As the temperatures have risen, so have the hemlines, so I was very shocked with what I saw only this morning. It would seem that history is repeating itself, and we women have to once again BEWARE OF WHAT WE WEAR in town.

I was on my way to work this morning and as the combi drew closer to the rank, there was a sudden traffic-jam, indicating that something had just happened. In the distance a crowd could be heard, whistling, shouting, and laughing. Everyone seemed to be focussed on a particular moving object. The rumbling crowd drew closer and some of what they were shouting could now be heard: “Hure!” “Mubvisei!”, “Dzimwe hembe dzasara kupi?”, “Ndizvo zvawanga uchida!” “Ungaita chipfambi mangwanani ano?”(“Bitch!” “Take them off”, “Where are the rest of your clothes?”, “This is what you wanted!” “How can you prostitute yourself so early in the morning?”)

The crowd was getting more and more irate and some of the hecklers had even taken out their mobile phones to photograph this mysterious trouble-maker. She finally emerged, dressed in a blue long sleeved top, a denim mini-skirt and flat sandals. She was tightly clutching a man’s arm and he attempted to manoeuvre them both through the enraged crowd, all of whom were men. Cameras clicked, fists banged on combi bodies, the men bellowed threats, hurled insults and comments of disapproval and disgust. The girl and her ‘saviour’, were swallowed by the growing crowd, (other men, having heard the commotion, had come to join in the taunting), only to emerge moments later halfway across the now completely blocked street. The pair, disappearing again into the belly of the beastly crowd, and miraculously re-appeared inside a parked combi. The mob then encircled it and began rocking it from side to side. With the crowd thus occupied, the road cleared and we were free to move.

All the men in the combi had something to say. One said that he didn’t wish to see such things as they would further raise his already high blood pressure, but all the while, he craned his head to see how the scene we had left behind was unfolding. Another said that they should indeed take her clothes off, because that is what she wanted and deserved. All the men agreed that she was immoral, and that displaying her body like that was disgusting.

I wondered why they had not looked away when they saw her ‘disgusting’ thighs only half covered by the mini-skirt, and why some of them had smiled and even licked their lips at the sight of other men tugging at the small garment.

All the women were silent, probably fearing that the bad old days have come back to haunt us once again.

This entry was posted on November 22nd, 2011 at 12:47 pm by Varaidzo Tagwireyi and is filed under Activism, Reflections, Uncategorized, Women's issues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.