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Police pledge to protect women
in trousers
February 9, 2008
EA STANDARD
By Antony Gitonga
The post-election chaos seems to be taking another dimension in
some parts of the country.
Before chaos rocked Naivasha two weeks ago, one’s mode of dress
was not an issue in the cosmopolitan town.
From skirts to jeans, women enjoyed donning the latest fashion the
world could offer.
But as the wave of violence hit the town, events took a different
turn. ‘New rules’ were introduced regarding women’s dress code.
A group of self-declared ‘purists’ has issued a ‘directive’
barring women from wearing trousers or ‘indecent tops’. The banned
tops include those without sleeves.
Those who defy the order are humiliated in public. They are
stripped naked in broad daylight. But the hooligans, who include
touts, are said to take the advantage to touch women indecently
and rob them of their valuables.
As a result, fear has gripped women and girls who have been
rushing to the shops to buy clothes considered ‘decent’.
And traders are making a killing, with prices of ‘decent’ dresses
and skirts skyrocketing. A second-hand dress that normally goes
for Sh100, now costs Sh500-Sh800.
A female visitor to the town dressed in trousers was undressed and
robbed of money and other valuables. Another woman was attacked
near the Naivasha-Nakuru bus terminus and robbed of Sh7,500.
Fellow women came to her rescue and offered her a leso to cover
herself. She reported the incident to the police.
The humiliation by the youths went on with impunity for days,
before a public outcry forced police to act.
So far, 24 suspects have been arrested.
At the same time, Rift Valley Provincial Commissioner, Mr Hassan
Noor Hassan, walked to the Nakuru bus terminus and warned matatu
operators against harassing women dressed in trousers.
The PC reminded them that this was a free country and nobody could
dictate what women should wear.
Policewomen in trousers
To catch the hooligans, Nakuru police recently launched an
undercover operation, ‘Operation Pests Out’.
Plain-clothes policewomen were sent out to mingle with the
unsuspecting thugs.
Drama started along Kenyatta Avenue in the town when the officers
arrived dressed in trousers.
Quick to the bait, the unruly youths came out in their numbers and
closed in on two officers, ready to strip them.
But they got a rude shock when the officers whipped out guns and
ordered them to lie down.
Those who tried to escape were not lucky, as armed male officers
keeping watch nabbed them a few metres from the scene. The
operation went on for more than three hours. Finally, women
breathed a sigh of relief as the long arm of the law caught up
with their tormentors.
Two suspects have since been charged in court with robbery with
violence and indecent assault. The rest will appear in court later.
And in Naivasha, the Officer Commanding Police Division, Mr Willy
Lugusa, says police have mounted a major operation to nab the ‘pests’.
He denied that organised gangs had taken over the town, saying
police were in control.
"For years, women have enjoyed the freedom to dress as they wish,
and nobody must curtail this right," he says.
Women thanked the police for coming to their rescue.
A local human rights activist and former councillor, Ms Rahab
Wairuri, said stripping women was a barbaric crime.
"Several women have been undressed in the town centre by a bunch
of youths who also rob them," she says.
She said the humiliation was likely to turn into ugly crimes like
rape.
"Nobody seems to know who issued the directive but women are
living in fear," she said.
Pastor Paul Matheri, of United Methodist Church, says the youths
are taking advantage of the political unrest to rob women.
"Women have every right to dress as they wish and those stripping
them should face the full wrath of the law," he says.
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