HRDC condemns indecent assault of miniskirt woman, calls for arrest

The Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC)  has condemned the behaviour of some unruly men in Blantyre who indecently assaulted a woman for wearing a minskirt.

In a video making rounds on social media, ring leaders are seen completely undressing the lady and fail short of raping her as she is brought down while a man gets on top of her.

The incident is the tip of the iceberg of the many unreported and unfilmed cases where toxic men decide to control what women must wear on the streets or else they are sexually harrassed.

Reacting to the video, HRDC national vice chairperson Gift Trapence condemned the incident as a violation of human rights and abuse of women and called for the law enforcers to act.

“This is uncalled for. This is a cancer that we have watched for too long and is eating the fibre of our society. Enough is enough. Let those involved be arrested and be charged accordingly. ” said Trapence who sounded furious.

Trapence, one of Malawi’s leading human rights defenders, appealed to the police to hunt for the suspects, saying: “We can’t go on like this as a country. Men do not own this country to decide what women must wear. Why should wearing a miniskirt be a crime?”

Meanwhile, the incident continues to spark public rage on social media with veteran legal mind Ralph Kasambara demanding that “these savages need to be brought to book.”

Writing on his Facebook wall, Kasambara further said Malawians should not be brought to the one party rule where dressing was regulated.

“Her simple crime is said to have been wearing a miniskirt. Really? Why do some fools want to take us back to one party regime days where dress code and hairstyle were regulated by the State? Those of you who know the perpetrators please inbox me. It’s high time we acted in concert to protect our mothers, aunt’s, sisters, daughters,” wrote Kasambara.

Meanwhile, reports indicate that the police have launched a man hunt to track down the suspects.

The incident comes hot on the heels of a similar fate suffered by a lady in Mzuzu beaten by a group of women on suspicion that she was going out witj a husband to one of the suspects.

Eight suspects have since been arrested.