To get a driver’s license in Zimbabwe has become one big hurdle for most would-be drivers. No matter how good a driver you are if you don’t cough up some Z$850million (inflation adjustable), you risk being stuck at the CMED stage for a very long time. Sometimes you fail a test for even the smallest, possibly forgivable mistakes like straddling your parallel parking white line with only two inches of your back wheel. However, your instructor would have told you point blank: pay Z$850million – you still take the test with a lot of leniency that in essence guarantees a pass. Pay a billion, and you need never go for the test at all. Just get your pass mark and proceed to VID where you can also pay your way for possibly double the amount. Oh, and these charges also vary according to the conceptual basis of what Dennis Nyandoro described as ‘speed markets’. The more elite or better dressed you look, the higher the cost. But then again, for most would-be drivers the question of moral integrity shapes the final way forward.

Speaking of morals, this was a contentious issue on this week’s 3rd Degree on SA’s e.tv. I’m probably developing a fetish for the show but the topic discussed wouldn’t stop gnawing at me for awhile. Apparently SA’s taxi rank operators (a.k.a. hwindis in Zim) have silently declared most taxi ranks no- go areas for mini-skirts. (Criteria of classification of such lies within their discretion). Women clad in short skirts have had them ripped off. Some have reported being stripped naked and having fingers poked into their private parts and other forms of sexual abuse. Some have even been followed and raped or stabbed. In Zimbabwe, although not as severe, most women suffer in silence the subtle sexual harassment that often manifests itself in rude whistling, suggestive remarks and gestures; or a quick grope on the breasts or buttocks in worst cases. 3rd Degree’s Debra Patta has, over the months, developed a talent for irritating a lot of people by her hard-hitting, aggressive interviewing techniques. But for the open-minded who are interested in getting answers, hers is one of the best ways of extracting them.

The hwindis interviewed (who sounded idiotic or were simply camera shy) seemed convinced that women who wore thigh revealing skirts were looking to and deserved to be raped. Although their arguments were hardly discernible beyond something to do with culture and their “harassed sexual feelings”, Patta kept insisting to whoever would listen that what women wore was not their business and they ought to learn to check their “childish sexual feelings and concentrate on the road”. One of the male passengers interviewed said something along the lines of:

“We all know that prostitutes have historically adapted such kind of dressing to lure men. Prostitutes are an eyesore and are the major drivers of moral decadence. If you agree to the fact that prostitutes generally wear minis for their trade, and then you wear them yourself, what will you be communicating? What’s the point? If you dress like that yourself and expect us to treat you with respect, you’d have to be joking”.

I got the feeling she was fighting a losing battle although I applaud the fact that she tackled the issue. Although I subscribe to the right to wear what you want where you want; I still feel the hwindis have a point even though we will not be bothered to hear it or seek to understand it from their perspective. I mean, I have been to many a workshop or other social gatherings like kitchen parties where women tell each other and agree amongst themselves that men are childish, or ought to be treated like children and this is often a good enough reason to excuse infidelity. Men are simply childish in that area. Most women then act accordingly by prepping themselves up to stay young and desirable and even going to the extent of consulting a n’anga so that their men don’t ‘stray’. If this is acceptable (that men are childish and naturally cheat) and understandable, why then is it so hard to imagine that some men (childishly) find mini-skirts sexually ‘harassing’ (in short arousing?).

Personally, though not a man and probably biased in the sense that I’m no huge fan of any kind of skirt anyway, I still find some of the skirts on our young girls quite offensive in the feeling-ashamed-for-them way. I’d welcome comments on what others feel or think about this issue because I’m not sure we are at the stage we should be forcing our rights to dress down chauvinist throats but rather, like domestic violence, we should be seeking conscientization and understanding through mainstreaming ideas around dress sensitivity.

This entry was posted on March 20th, 2008 at 11:40 am by Natasha Msonza and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.