A couple of emotions were running through my mind as I sat frozen in place after watching that, first being that if I were back home I'd be scared shitless to even step out of the house, because, really, who's to say someone won't simply up and decide my jeans are too tight, or my blouse is too low cut, and proceed to rid me of them? Secondly, that one simply can't not feel outraged on behalf of that poor woman. Another one was disappointment that in this day and age, Neanderthals still live among us.
You'd think that the madness would end there. I mean, after seeing the video, I'd assumed most, if not all, people would be just as, or more, outraged than I was. Wait til I take to Twitter and see Robert Alai's (why is he known again???) tweets, something along the lines of those "men" (please) being justified in what they did and that it was the right course of action, followed by replies of other "men" applauding him for saying so. At this point I'm just staring at the screen with my head tilted, (at this juncture, picture the woman in a purple shirt and the tiny ponytail on top of her head with her hand raised, palm up, with a "wtf?" expression on her face). It took a while for it to sink in that there are people who actually think this was ok.
Demonstrations were held today protesting this heinous act, and violence against women. Some "men" (I believe the logic behind my use of quotation marks is obvious) were going on about how they should be focusing on important things, and how they should stop advocating for indecent dressing, that "it is not the African way". What truly saddens me is that they just don't get it. Would they really maintain their standpoint if the woman being stripped and publicly humiliated was their mother, aunt, sister, niece, wife, daughter, girlfriend, friend? Sure, they might object and claim that the women in their life do not dress like that, but really, if we are permissive of this kind of behaviour, who will stop the next group of men from deciding to have some fun and strip a random woman naked, then, ever so stupidly, claim, "She was indecent, we were teaching her a lesson"? It's a downward spiral. What scale is being used here to judge the level of decency? Am I, a grown-ass woman, supposed to ask permission to wear my own clothes? Clothes that I bought , with my money? Should we now turn to men for fashion advice? Or maybe all women should begin wearing uniforms?
Dear men, for those who are still puzzled by the backlash, or think it's an overreaction, or deem it unnecessary, this is the point: there is an enormous difference between the law and moral opinion. Nowhere in any Kenyan law does it dictate what a woman may or may not wear, hence if I so wish to break out my mini skirt, provided I attained it legally, I am still well within my rights to wear it. Sexual harassment, however, is very much illegal, last I checked, which this most definitely was, no ifs, ands or buts about it (so whether or not you support this madness speaks volumes of your character), and should, under no circumstances be tolerated, at all. It is also within your rights to judge, criticize, shake your head, point and laugh, and generally show your distaste for my choice of wardrobe, but that is where your right to react ends. So, feel free to reminisce of the days of old, and whatever it is you think happened, but you'd do well to remember, my life, my money, my dress, MY CHOICE.
