Malawi Women to Proclaim Right to Wear Pants on Friday

Malawi Women to Proclaim Right to Wear Pants on Friday

By Zach Waksman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

LILONGWE, Malawi – The past two days in Malawi were marked by a series of attacks on women for their choice of dress.  But instead of being targeted for expose their arms and legs, they were attacked for wearing particular items.  Women in this East African country’s three main cities – Lilongwe, Mzuzu, and Blantyre – were accosted and stripped of their trousers, miniskirts, and leggings.  A protest is planned for Friday.

The first signs of unrest appeared on Tuesday, when Lilongwe police arrested 15 men for robbery with violence and malicious damage.  Others in the capital’s market were stripped naked.  Despite warnings not to wear pants in the marketplace, more undressing, all perpetrated in broad daylight, took place on Wednesday.  The attackers have generally been street vendors in the cities’ marketplaces.

As a result of this behavior, women started a protest campaign entitled “Lelo N’kugule, Mawa Undivule?”  Its literal meaning is “Today I buy from you, tomorrow you undress me?”  According to this pact, all women have agreed not to buy anything from street vendors for over a month.  The protest will also end if the perpetrators apologize.  If the attacks continue, they have threatened to conduct a naked protest.

Malawi remains a very conservative country.  Until 1994, when the nation shifted to democracy, women were not even allowed to wear trousers.  Though restrictions on personal and political freedoms have been relaxed, some of the old beliefs remain prevalent.

“We are coming from a one-party state, and people have the traditional values which we had in the past,” Lilongwe resident Veronica Male told the BBC in 2003.  “Right now it’s very difficult for girls and women to put on mini-skirts – they are booed, they are mobbed, they are assaulted.”

On Thursday, President Bingu wa Mutharika gave a national address in which he refuted accusations that he incited the attacks.  He also called himself a champion of women’s rights.

“I have not sent anybody to harass women in the streets.  These people do not have my permission,” he said.  “Every woman and girl has the right to dress the way they wish and there is no law that restricts what they should wear.”

Vice President Joyce Banda spoke about the incidents as well.  She attributes them to general anger about the country’s economic troubles, which include shortages of fuel and foreign currency.

“I have thought very seriously why all this is happening. All Malawians are in a state of hopelessness. There is so much anger, pain and frustrations. There is so much suffering that people have decided to vent their frustrations on each other. This is total chaos and worrisome for all of us, Malawians,” Banda said.

Friday’s protests are expected include a sit-in featuring women wearing trousers, mini-skirts, and leggings, which are Malawi’s latest fashion trend, with white tops, a symbol of peace.  The sit-in, which will take place in Blantyre, will feature interdenominational speakers on the role and inherent value of women in society.

Seodi White, a lawyer and a leading women’s rights activist, said protesters would gather “in solidarity with the victims and to express our indignation at such barbaric treatment of mothers, wives and daughters of our country.”

“We are calling on all women and men of goodwill to urgently converge … for constructive engagement on the protection of women and the defence of their rights in a democratic Malawi,” she said.

For more information, please see:

BBC — Malawian President Backs Women in Trousers after Attacks — 19 January 2012

Daily Times — Government Spits Fire at Thugs — 19 January 2012

Malawi Voice — Breaking News: Mutharika Speaks Out on Women Attack — 19 January 2012

Nyasa Times — All Set for Women Protest against Pants Stripping — 19 January 2012

Nyasa Times — Bingu Denies Inciting Strip Attack on Women — 19 January 2012

Nyasa Times — Women Launch “Lelo N’kugule, Mawa Undivule” Campaign — 19 January 2012

Daily Times — Lilongwe Thugs Strip Women Naked — 18 January 2012

Daily Times — Police Arrest 15 Men for Undressing Women — 18 January 2012

BBC — Malawi Mulls Mini-Skirt Freedoms — 12 November 2003

ICTJ In Focus January 2012 Issue 13

ICTJ in Focus January 2012 Issue 13

Report Says Thousands Died Needlessly in Somalia Famine; Chance for Redemption in Sudan

By Tamara Alfred
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

Aid agencies have released a report stating that thousands of people, more than half of them children, died needlessly while millions of dollars were wasted because the international community did not respond to early warnings of an impending famine in East Africa.  The report also warned of a new hunger crisis in West Africa.

Various organizations say that children account for at least half of the thousands of deaths due to the famine. (Photo Courtesy of CNN.)

The report by Oxfam and Save the Children says that a food shortage was predicted as early as August 2010, but most donors did not respond until famine was declared in parts of Somalia in July 2011.  The agencies said many donors wanted to first see proof that there was humanitarian catastrophe, which led to a funding shortfall that delayed any response to the crisis.

“We all bear responsibility for this dangerous delay that cost lives in East Africa and need to learn the lessons of the late response,” said Oxfam head Barbara Stocking.

The report says the delays in East Africa caused thousands of deaths and increased costs for aid agencies.  The British government estimates that between 50,000 and 100,000 people have died from the famine, mostly in Somalia.  More than half of those who died are believed to be children.

On Friday, it will be six months since the United Nations declared famine in Somalia.  The organization says tens of thousands will have died of starvation by the time the famine ends, while 250,000 Somalis are still at risk of starvation and more than 13 million people need aid.

“Children will have suffered the most,” said U.N. aid chief in Somalia, Mark Bowden.  “[M]alnutrition rates in Somalia were the highest in the world, and I think the highest recorded…up to 50% of the child population suffered from severe or acute malnutrition.”

“The world knows an emergency is coming but ignores it until confronted with TV pictures of desperately malnourished children,” said Save the Children head Justin Forsyth.

However, Kenyan economist James Shikwati believes that it would have been difficult to prevent the famine in south-central Somalia because the region is controlled by al-Shabab, an insurgent group that has greatly limited the work that aid agencies can do in the region.  “I don’t think the solution to famine is just sending money in good time,” said Shikwati.  “Even if you have all the money in your pocket and all the grain in your store, unless al-Shabab allows you to access their areas then people there are still going to starve.”

Shikwati’s comments may prove to be true sooner rather than later in war-torn Sudan.  United States envoy to Sudan Princeton Lyman warned today that half a million people will face an emergency bordering on famine by March if international humanitarian organizations are not allowed into areas of Sudan that are mired in conflict.  The government in Khartoum argues that the border areas of South Kordofan and Blue Nile are too dangerous for NGOs to operate in.

Lyman said a lack of leadership, a history of vicious ethnic violence and the indictment of Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir by the International Criminal Court are all factors that have complicated the crisis in that country.  He further lamented the lack of a mechanism for Sudan and newly independent South Sudan to resolve conflicts, “despite the two sides having been in a unity government for five years and having participated in years of peace talks.”

Since South Sudan gained independence from the north in July 2011, fighting has continued in the border regions of South Kordofan, Blue Nile, Unity State and Upper Nile.  Countless lives have been lost and hundreds of thousands have been displaced, exacerbating an already desperate humanitarian crisis.

The Sudanese ambassador to South Africa, Ali Yusuf Alsharif, warned that the situation in his country could become worse than Somalia.  However, he also cautioned that outside pressure may further complicate the situation.

“The world has looked at Somalia, not knowing what to do,” Alsharif said at a conference.  “But if you push everyone [in Sudan], you could have a situation worse than Somalia.”

For more information, please see:

CNN – Sudan faces potential famine, U.S. envoy warns – 18 January 2012

Huffington Post – Somalia Famine Response Too Slow, Thousands of People Died Needlessly: Report – 18 January 2012

BBC News – Somali famine ‘will kill tens of thousands’ – January 15 2012