You might never have had the embarrassing experience of unintentionally
looking at a lady’s exposed buttocks as she tries to get out of a
vehicle. I have. I have also observed with pity and disdain the way most
girls, ladies and even some married women dress nowadays. All over the
place, you see ladies dressed in clothes that left bare the greater
parts of their bodies. Parts of the woman’s body which hitherto, are
considered sacred and are thus covered such as breasts, buttocks and
thighs are displayed as if they are for sale.
It is not uncommon to see some ladies in dresses that left bare the
whole of their backs and bellies; the ones they call in the Ghanaian
parlance ‘I’m aware’. It hurts even more to see some of them in such
dresses on the TV either preaching morality through the singing of
gospel songs or hosting shows meant to educate the public. Movie
actresses and secular musicians would not spare us that nudity either.
At other times, it is rather annoying when you see them in such dresses
sashaying on the street heading for the church, presumably going to
worship God. You can’t help praying to God for mercy!
Miniskirts have been around a long time ago. But now, low-rise jeans
trousers are the in-thing. Only problem: this type of jeans trousers is
intended to sit on the hips, below the waistline and therefore has the
tendency of exposing the buttocks and its cleavage especially when the
wearer is sitting or bending down. But our ladies love them! So, waist
beads and underwear, especially g-strings are now a usual sight to
behold anytime a lady is in these low-rise jeans trousers. And because
they put on blouses that are not long enough to alleviate the damage
being caused by the low-rise jeans; and also do not usually even put on
any underwear, their buttocks and their cleavages are glaringly exposed
especially when they are sitting, getting out of vehicles or picking up
an item on the floor. Wow!
Low-cut blouses, with necklines so low that they expose the breast
and its cleavage are part of the order of the day; another 21st century
fashion! And so, as you walk the streets, expect to see as many exposed
breasts and their cleavages as you wish; they are definitely going to
come your way! Those are our would-be-mothers (or even mothers); people
who would be expected to nurture young ones into responsible adults in
future!
If you dare ask why they now dress in such irresponsible and rather
immoral ways, you would be told “Wobe hwea hwe; wonhwe so a yi wani”
(read: “If you will look, look; if you will not look, look somewhere
else”). If you are spared that uncouthness, you are sure to be lectured
about ‘civilisation’: the basis of it all! And of course coupled with
the support of a constitutional right – freedom of dressing! And so,
ladies no more see anything wrong with walking the streets almost in the
nude. Just a few days ago, one of these university girls told me they
would soon walk the streets in just g-strings and brassieres. I believed
her. Why not? I have already seen girls doing that in some western
movies. And since they copy their bad dress standards from such sources,
I know they would really do it soon if they have not started already.
Freedom of dressing is a constitutional right. But I think it would
be wise for our ladies to realise that the bad dress standards they are
adopting are not only a form of sexual harassment to men and boys but
also a major cause of the many rape cases that are reported every year
all over the world. Such dress standards are also a cause of sexual
harassment directed at them usually at their work places. That does not
end the story; in such outfits, they portray themselves as sex objects.
What else does nudity connote if not sex? It is therefore not surprising
that most men nowadays perceive them as sex objects. And they would
always accuse men of perceiving them as such! Even though such mode of
dressing is destroying the sitting and walking posture of most of them,
ignorance (or rather ‘civilisation’) continues to lure them into it.
Ignorance is really bliss! I would not talk about the religious side of
this whole menace.
Since no one would tell me those are the only types of clothes in
the shops these days, I always wonder what they hope to achieve by
dressing in such manners: probably to entice men? Or just to show the
world what they have got? Whatever it is, it is most unfortunate that as
we try to fight crimes such as rape and sexual harassment in our
society, some of our women and ladies have decided to compound the
problem by adopting such dress standards which are totally degrading and
an insult to womanhood.
Religious organizations: churches and mosques must continuously
caution their ladies to dress decently. Civil society groups must put up
campaigns aimed at preaching the message of decent dress standards
among ladies and women. Parents must monitor and regulate the dress
standards of their daughters. Educational institutions, especially the
tertiary institutions must come up with rules that regulate the dress
code of their students. We cannot look on unconcerned whilst this canker
labeled as fashion continues to eat deep into our way of life.All that said, it is the duty of all of us to support this humble
call for decency in the mode of dressing of our ladies. Unless this is
done, we may wake up one day just to see our women, mothers for that
matter, walking the streets in just g-strings and brassieres as my
university friend predicted. And they would of course count that also
among their freedoms – that of dressing!
