Kenyans
took to the streets of Nairobi on Monday to send a message to men: Stop
attacking women because of the way they dress.
The protests followed the latest incident of a woman stripped
naked in the capital by a group of men who accused her of "indecent"
dressing. The attack captured on video last week prompted outrage on social
media under the hashtag #mydressmychoice.
Protesters marched through downtown carrying placards that read
"My dress, my choice" while others donned mini-skirts, the same
attire the unidentified woman wore when she was attacked. Some men wore dresses
to show their support
Others
joined the march to rally against the protests, chanting "don't be
naked" and "wear clothes."
This is not the first time a woman has been undressed for
purported indecent dressing in the East African nation, which is a majority
Christian. Such incidents sporadically happen in other major cities, including
Nakuru and Mombasa. Continue...
In the footage posted on YouTube and shown on local television,
the woman is confronted by her attackers at a bus stop. She looks terrified as
she is pushed and shoved by a group of men, who eventually strip her naked. In
the background, attackers yell "Toa" -- Swahili for "take it
off!" as they tug at her clothes.
"It's so sad that these men who strip women are the same same
men who ... will go out in the night looking at women who are dressed to kill
and they drool over them," said Brenda Otieno, who supported the protests
in Nairobi.
While some applauded the protests, others said they are a distraction
from the main issues.
"Kenyans
are actually not concerned about clothes ... this is just a media created
frenzy trying to redirect the nation's attention away from hard questions like
poverty and poor education system," Edu Gezuka posted on social media.
After the videotaped incident, other instances of women getting
undressed have been reported including in Mombasa, Kenya's second-largest city.
The issue in not limited to Kenya. Over the years, such incidents have occurred in
other African nations, including Malawi and Zimbabwe.
Kenyan authorities have said they are investigating the latest
incident.
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