Women in Uganda who go out wearing mini-skirts could face jail or a heavy fine under draconian new anti-pornography laws.
#SaveTheMiniskirt: Uganda Proposes Miniskirt Ban
The legislation would also see television dramas and films banned if it is passed by parliament.
The
Anti-Pornography Bill 2011 proposes that those found guilty of abetting
pornography be fined up to 10 million Ugandan shillings or jailed for
up to 10 years, or both.
Simon Lokodo, Uganda's ethics and
integrity minister, who proposed the Bill, said: "Any attire which
exposes intimate parts of the human body, especially areas that are of
erotic function, are outlawed.
Anything above the knee is outlawed. If a woman wears a miniskirt, we will arrest her."
The
bill, which is backed by Deputy Attorney General Fred Ruhindi, would
also see many films and TV dramas banned from the airwaves and internet
use monitored.
Mr Lokodo, a former Catholic priest defrocked by
the Vatican for his involvement in politics, said that would mean that
celebrities such as Beyoncé and Madonna would be banned from Ugandan
television.
"Television should not broadcast a sexy person.
On
the internet, we're going to put a monitoring system so we know who has
watched which website and we know who has watched pornographic
material."
Mr Lokodo said the Bill was needed to protect women and children against exploitation and curb increasing immorality.
If passed, the proposed law would mark a return to the era of dictator Idi Amin, who banned short skirts.
Traditional modesty: Mr Lokodo argues he wants to shield women from sexual exploitation by having them cover up
Many Ugandans are against the idea and some have taken to Twitter to express their outrage using the hashtag #SaveMiniSkirt.
But
on Thursday the draft law ran into problems when some members of the
Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee voiced concerns about its
implications for freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution.
MPs said
the Bill’s definition of pornography was too broad and said it went
against Uganda’s tradition of being a tolerant country.
The Bill
defines pornography as any cultural practice, behaviour or form of
communication that depicts naked breasts, thighs, buttocks or genitalia.
The
definition also includes anyone engaged in explicit sexual activities,
erotic behaviour intended to cause sexual excitement and any indecent
act or behaviour tending to corrupt morals.
But MPs criticised the
lack of definition about what constituted "decent dressing" and said
the Bill could inhibit the sexual behaviour of married couples.
They asked the Government to stop curtailing freedoms, which they said could scare away tourists.
Less of that, please, ladies: the Bill would ensure that singers
such as Madonna and Beyoncé are taken off air because of their immodest
dress, says Mr Lokodo
Mr Lokodo responded by saying that the
legislation will not outlaw "any act or behaviour between spouses or
couples performed in fulfilment of their conjugal rights and
responsibilities, where such matters are strictly private."
He
said that one of the dangers of pornography is that it fuels sexual
crimes against women and children, including rape and child molestation.
He suggested that women who were victims of sexual violence were sometimes attacked because of their provocative dress.
"One can wear what one wants, but please do not be provocative," he said.
"People who are indecently dressed do it provocatively and sometimes they are attacked.
An onlooker is moved to attack her and we want to avoid those areas.
He is a criminal but he was also provoked and enticed."
While
some committee members said that pornography was already outlawed under
Ugandan law, Mr Lokodo said that the existing laws only covered the
publication of obscene material and that the issue of pornography
transcended publication.
Mr Lokodo is no stranger to controversy.
Last
year he raided a workshop for gay activists and announced a ban on 38
pro-gay groups, saying they were undermining the national culture by
promoting homosexuality.
Source: news naij



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