Lilongwe (dpa) – Women's groups in Malawi planned to protest Friday for the right to wear trousers and mini-skirts and against sexual harassment following a string of attacks from gangs of men. The women have received the support of President Bingu wa Mutharika, who assured them “you are free to wear what you want.” “The laws in Malawi provide for the freedom of dress and movement,” Mutharika said in a nation-wide radio address. He made the address after police arrested a gang of men who went around stripping women wearing short skirts and trousers. Seodi White, executive director of the Women in Law in Southern Africa (Wilsa) organization, said the planned protests in the commercial capital Blantyre would be peaceful. “The aim of the protest is to show solidarity for women's rights and women's dignity. We are sending a clear message that we are not going back to the past,” White said, referring to the decades of authoritarian rule by Malawi's founding president, Hastings Kamuzu Banda. His reign was marked by an autocratic style and ultra-conservatism. Women, for instance, were banned from wearing miniskirts and trousers. Those laws were repealed in 1994, after Banda lost the country's first multi-party election. The latest problems began to unfold on Tuesday in Lilongwe's central business district, when vendors descended on unsuspecting women and girls wearing miniskirts and trousers. Clashes with police forced shops to shut. Police spokesperson John Namalenga confirmed the arrest of 15 suspected attackers. They are due in court in the coming days. Women are hoping to capitalize on the momentum of the arrest and the support of the president. “I will not accept the harassment of women. I believe in the promotion of women's rights and freedoms,” Mutharika said. Malawi Human Rights Commission chairperson John Kapito urged authorities to tackle the country's underlying social problems, warning that the anger being taken out against the women was a result of high unemployment and the rising cost of living. Malawi is reeling from the effects of donor aid cuts, economic mismanagement, fuel shortages and capital flight. Many businesses are closing down, pushing the jobless rate higher. “We would not condone anybody to attack anyone but because of the environment we are living in there is a lot of anger building up. These are effects of (a) bigger problem. Unfortunately the anger is being targeted at people,” Kapito said. Dorothy Ngoma, executive director of National Organization of Nurses and Midwives in Malawi, said the attacks were unacceptable. She threatened to call for a boycott of male vendors if the harassments did not end. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/jIdUI Tags: Malawi, Protest, Trousers Section: Latest News, Southern Africa, Women
