Recently, street venders in Malawi, frustrated by the equality women are gaining, attacked several groups of women for wearing pants, leggings, and miniskirts. The vendors beat the women in the middle of the road and stripped them naked, claiming that the women did not follow tradition. "Attacking women in trousers is an outrage. We are a democracy, they are taking us back to the stone ages," said Seodi White, a women's rights activist. In response to the attacks, large groups of women have organized a protest by marching in the streets wearing the offending garments and shirts that said, "Today we buy your merchandise, tomorrow you strip us naked!" The attacks garnered the Malawian president's attention as well. He has ordered for the police to arrest anyone attacking women for their clothing. The president warned the attackers that women have the right to wear what they want. When the nation became a democracy in 1994, a law was repealed the forbade women from wearing pants and such. Malawi allows gender equality in its constitution, but disparities remain in almost all parts of its society.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/20/world/africa/malawi-pants-protest/index.html?hpt=wo_c2
Rachel Foy
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Makes me sad.
Post a Comment