Mini-skirt dressing in schools unacceptable, say Chiefs: Ban ‘inappropriate clothes’

Chiefs in Blantyre want government to ban wearing of miniskirts in schools describing it as one of the contributing factors to increased sexual assualt cases amongst the school-going girls.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Malawi Education Sector Improvement Programme (MISEP) sensitization meeting held at Bandawe Schools in Blantyre, Traditional Authority Machinjiri osaid many of the young girls were subjected to sexual abuse mainly because of their  ‘inappropriate clothes’ .

“How do you expect men to resist when girls have dressed in a seducing manner, we need to bring back good morals in schools. During our time, girls wore skirts beyond their knees as such, rape cases were very rare.

“While we advocate for promotion of girls education and that we join hands in retaining them in school, we must also seriously consider about the dressing code,” said T/A Machinjiri.

The Chief said though freedom of dressing was a fundamental right in the Constitution, there was need to put a control on school children, especially how they should dress mainly in school and also at home.

Senior Chief Kapeni said apart from rape cases, early pregnancies as well as early marriages amongst girls in schools were also as a result of the way they dress.

“I vehemently support that dressing that expose body parts of a girl child should be banned. Let’s not allow foreign culture kill the future of our girls. The Ministry of Education must take this issue seriously,” he said.

The chief added, “Those who formulated the Constitution are people and they can as well amend it on dressing in schools so that there is discipline and sanity while also allowing girls to complete their education.”

District Education Manager (DEM) for Blantyre Responsible for Primary Education, Paul Chiphanda acknowledged irresponsible dressing as a major threat to girls in schools.

Chiphanda said because girls were not dressing responsibly, men took advantage and engaged them in sexual activities.

“What the chiefs are saying is very genuine and there has to be a mechanism to control this. We have tried to sensitize schools on this but still the Constitution has more power if we need to see a change,” said Chiphanda.

Jeremiah Kankuza, one of the MESIP project managers in the Ministry of Education said the ministry will need to evaluate the chiefs’ concerns and determine the way forward.

“This could be a big issue not only in Blantyre but across the country. However, we still need to have voices from other districts. But we are not condoning dressing of miniskirts, a girl is supposed to dress properly so that she does not seduce men and fall in the trap,” Kankuza said.

He said as a temporary measure, communities could develop by-laws and stop such a behaviour in schools within their community.

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Upile
Upile
5 years ago

Rape has nothing to do with dressing. Babies, toddlers, grandmothers and covered up women are raped. When the chiefs make statements like these they are protecting the boys and men who rape and implying that rapists are victims. What nonsense.
Simply put: to touch, kiss, or have sex with someone ask for consent or their agreement to such. Otherwise it is rape and or aggravated assault punishable by the law.

Kangaroo_Court
Kangaroo_Court
5 years ago
Reply to  Upile

I guess u hv lost track Upile,wht the Chieves are saying thinkng it wth sober mind it is very true.Whts the purpose of putting o miniskirts?whts the reasons?is xool a place for fashion?

Mphwache
Mphwache
5 years ago
Reply to  Kangaroo_Court

Why don’t they go rape the night queens instead?

Chatsalira
Chatsalira
5 years ago

As usual the Chiefs making a lot of noise like empty tins.
So many ills in our society and you dwell on the freedom of dressing.
Were you not there in 1993 when Malawi voted to outlaw restrictions on dressing?
Wake up and smell the coffee. This is 21st Century where people are parading naked and others nude.

Kangaroo_Court
Kangaroo_Court
5 years ago
Reply to  Chatsalira

People wth shallow minds can think tht the Chieves are makng noise,bt this z onpoint!they mean it,this must be looked into.its disguizng,seductions,and very bad!

Mphwache
Mphwache
5 years ago

Women, we see them everyday, NAKED in our bedrooms. What makes a grown man fail to hold his self esteem upon seeing a girl in a mini-skirt?

Kangaroo_Court
Kangaroo_Court
5 years ago
Reply to  Mphwache

Dressng code z always important,Democracy has killed us,the very good example z u hw u r talkng.

Dengu
Dengu
5 years ago

While not condoning inappropriate dress, this cannot be an excuse for the abuse of women. Men have to take responsibility for their actions.

Harawa
Harawa
5 years ago
Reply to  Dengu

khala choncho

chaione wawo
5 years ago

A good discussion a little late.This should have been ignited a decade ago. At this stage turning the tables will be difficult. Just wait until feminists respond to this debate.

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