Protest comes after scantily clad woman attacked
We have a right to MINISKIRTS
March 07, 2008
MINISKIRTS are causing a major stir in South Africa.
A protestor wearing a miniskirt dances at the rally in Johannesburg where women marched the streets carrying placards. Pictures: AP
On Tuesday, hundreds of women marched through the country's capital, Johannesburg, with picket signs and placards declaring: 'We love our miniskirts' and 'We aren't road signs, you need to respect us'.
The protest was staged near a city taxi stand where a young woman had her clothes torn off by taxi drivers and hawkers last month, allegedly for showing too much skin.
ASSAULT
Her assailants allegedly touched the woman's private parts while pouring alcohol over her head and calling her names.
According to Ms Mpumi Ngidi, 26, who took part in the protest:
'If you are caught between the pavement and a (vendor's) stall and you cross a group of men, at least one in three will try to touch you...'
She said that she is frequently harassed by men in public.
'I don't wear miniskirts, I don't dress in a sexy way or dress up. It is partly a defense mechanism, ' she added.
Johannesburg's taxi associations condemned last month's incident, which saw several other women coming forward with similar harrowing stories.
But taxi driver Thulani Nhlapho, 21, summed up one male view.
'If you are wearing a miniskirt, you give the impression you want to be raped. You respect yourself when you wear a longer skirt. We respect women who respect themselves.'
Car guard Edwin Ndlovu, 29, was among those regarded the procession with great amusement. 'We laugh because they are naked,' he said.
'As a person, you have to control your feelings.
'It is difficult when women are naked. That's how some men end up raping women.'
Popular South African radio personality Redi Direko, who took part in the protest, said: 'We have babies who get raped, grandmothers who get raped.
'When I was assaulted, I was 13 and wearing a school uniform.'
Ms Direko said it was disturbingly common for women to have their breasts and buttocks fondled on taxis.
VIOLENT
'There is a lot of patriarchy. The expression of male sexuality is often violent. Women have no negotiating power,' she added.
About 50,000 rapes are reported every year in South Africa, which has one of the world's highest violent crime rates. But activists say the numbers are hugely under-reported, and could amount to a million a year.
AFP
Source:
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/st...58382,00.html? 
