africatodayonline.blogspot.com -
London, Feb. 27 : Ugandan women reportedly gathered outside capital Kampala's national theatre to protest against the state's recent ban on wearing miniskirts.
The protest came as women were reportedly forced to remove their skirts in public after President Yoweri Museveni signed an anti-pornography bill in December, banning 'indecent' clothing.
According to the Independent, around 200 women had gathered outside the national theatre as police prevented them from marching through the streets of the capital.
One of the event organizers reportedly claimed that she was harassed by officers of the law when she went to the police headquarters to seek permission to hold the march.
The measure was put forward last year by Uganda's Ethics and Integrity Minister, Simon Lokodo, who said that women who wore 'anything above the knee' should be arrested, the report added.
Uganda Women's Network executive director, Rita Achiro, reportedly said that her organization might launch legal action as equal rights were guaranteed by the country's constitution for both sexes.
Achiro also mentioned that people were now free to abuse women openly as the law did not mention the term 'miniskirt' directly, but banned women from 'dressing indecently in a manner to sexually excite'.
--ANI (Posted on 27-02-2014)
