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CHOGM via Getty Images file
Malawi President Bungu wa Mutharika on Thursday says he won't tolerate attacks on women for wearing non-traditional dress.
Women in Malawi plan to protest in the streets Friday over recent beatings by street-vendor mobs who beat and stripped naked several women for wearing trousers or miniskirts instead of the south Africa country's traditional dress.
Malawi's president on Thursday ordered the arrest of anyone who attacks women for their apparel.
"I will not allow anyone to wake up and go on the streets and start undressing women and girls wearing trousers, because that is illegal," President Bingu wa Mutharika told state radio on Thursday. "Every woman and girl has the right to dress the way they wish."
"No one should lie that I have asked vendors to assault women dressed in trousers. It's a lie and I will not allow that," the president said.
Malawi had laws until 1994 under the autocratic rule of Hastings Banda that banned women from wearing short skirts and men having long hair or flared trousers, the BBC reported. It dropped the restrictions when multi-party democracy was introduced.
However, this week street vendors attacked several women in Lilongwe and commercial capital Blantyre over their dress, saying they were enforcing a government decree.
Seodi White, a lawyer and leading women's rights activist, told the BBC that protesters would gather Friday "in solidarity with the victims and to express our indignation at such barbaric treatment of mothers, wives and daughters of our country".
Malawi's Vice-President Joyce Banda earlier blamed the attacks on Malawi's economic woes, the BBC said.
"There is so much suffering that people have decided to vent their frustrations on each other," she said.
The country faces severe shortages of fuel and foreign currency, the BBC said.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Leave a Comment:
The West better intervene here. These folks need to be saved.
Bombs away tends to be the governments policy.
Specifically...............?
The west (I am assuming you mean U.S.) should mind its own p's & q's and allow the people to find their own resolution to their problems.
Fix the leak in your own roof before you offer to repair someone elses. (Especialy if they sre not asking you to)
Yo deez chicks be towin da line n dey dont need da git da beatin.
This is SO disturbing. Tiber.......So are you
Brooke...
Good reply...Tiber is an a**hole/jerk/creep/idiot/troll!
What is it about religious people that makes them hate sex?
I think they just hate fun in general haha
It's about being in charge. When people feel out of control (perhaps with their own sexual feelings) they look around for someone to bully, just to feel that there are sensible boundaries out there (no this, no that, ok, now everything is in order and I feel less scared). Usually, when men bully women (in the many horrible ways they do), it's about control of some aspect of sexuality, because that's an area of consciousness many undeveloped men have the hardest time to deal with, within themselves. Beyond just saying that times are hard and people are turning on each other, the government should make this behavior a crime, with a severe penalty of fines and time served. IMO
If you've read 1984, you'll understand -- control sex, and you can control people. All that energy can be directed.
Sex is all the religijerks have to scream about.
They totally ignore all of the teachings in the Bible.... such as no violence, no stealing, feeding the poor, helping the sick, not doing business on the Sabbath. Actually the Bible says little about sex, other than adultery....which BTW is the act of diddling another mans wife. Adultery is a major cause of violence. 95% of murders in this country are domestic
David, Tampa: Actually the Bible say a lot about sex i.e. don't do livestock, your son or daughter, another person of the same sex, yourself. So please before you quote the Bible, read the Bible!
What is it about people that make them think that everything is a religious issue?
Chef80: I agree with you. I was just pointing out that if you are going to quote a book, it might be helpful if you first read the book. I fail to understand people who make every issue a religious issue myself.
JEM: I guess you never heard of Mormons!
Retired SFC
Thank you for correcting the ignorant.
To some people almost everything is an issue that relates to God. The religious are one thing, but the true believers are another. True believers, have devoted their whole lives to live and breath, by the Spirit of God.
You will always have us to redirect those, that try to tear apart the truth. This is a Freedom we have for now, just as the "Haters of the Creator" have a freedom to show their ignorance.
Galatians 4:6 We by faith become His Sons or Daughters, crying Abba, Father
A Servant and Brother in Christ.
The world us full of religious nuts. God knows we have our share.
Religion and True believers are two different things. You have met both.
Christ would have been considered a religious nut by the worlds standards. All those that stand up for their beliefs usually fall in the "nuts" category. What beliefs do you hold that would be considered "nuts". maybe you hate God, so you would fall into the "nut" that hates God. Maybe you don't even believe in God, well you fall into the category of "nut" that doesn't know what he believes.
The Bible say that all those that follow Christ will suffer even as He did. They made fun of Him, they spit upon Him, they crucified Him. Yet despite all of that, He rose, so that all those that believe can also rise to everlasting life.
Read John 3:16
His Servant.
kowabonga ongawa mabemba !
its always seems odd to me that the people that attack women because they feel the women are dressing indecently, always strip em naked, i mean wouldnt that even further inflame the "passions", kinda seems counter intuitive, course then again i guess its an "convienient" excuse for them to see a hooey they arent married to without fear of religious backlash.
Wow..... I am so glad I am an American. I can dress as I like, worship as I like and live as I like. Thank God for the United States of America!!!
Enjoy your freedom while it last's Susan. There are are right wingers coming for your rights. And there will be nothing for you to do but run.
Please do not come to Florida with the idea that you can dress as you like, no you can't. If you are not a southern Baptist you will be scorned. If your life style happens to be unconventional, you will be arrested.
which part of florida? southern alabama or northern havana? i've been to florida a few time (not anwhere close to disney) and it was fine except for the bugs. i'm not baptist, let alone souther baptist and i saw more people dressed "how they wanted" without being harrassed or arrested.
you must be white
so you must be racist...
Sometimes, people get the governments they deserve......"bloody savages", you know...
According to Ecclesiastes the sole purpose of man (or woman) is to love God and keep His commandments. If we all did this ALL of this division, domination and hatred would go away. Let every person work out his own salvation with fear and trembling. My God is an awesome best friend.
Well, my god can beat up your god.
Hate to tell you but they are all just different versions of the same idea. Personalizing it,as we tend to do, is why killing in the name of 'my' god happens.
Fran
You are right about the purpose of man or woman is to love God and your neighbor as ourselves.
As a Christian we are to live by the Spirit, not under the law. If righteousness comes by the Commandments, then Christ sacrifice was for nothing. I read in Galatians that we are to live by the Spirit, not under the law. Christ has given us the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us. We now live by faith, not under the law. The Commandment are still here, but they are not for Christians, but for those that live under the them.
Galatians 3:13 says"Christ purchased our freedom, redeeming us from the curse of the law, He became a curse for us".
Galatians 5:4 says "If you seek to be justified and declared righteous and to be given a right standing with God through the law, you are brought to nothing and so separated from Christ.
To think some how, we can earn salvation by works [keeping the commandments], is saying that Christ's sacrifice was in vain.
Being a Christian is not full of complicated laws that no one can keep, We are saved by grace, and that not of ourselves, it is a gift from God. Read John 3:16
God bless,and lead us all into the saving knowledge of His grace.
They're taking out thier fustrations on each other because they are short of fuel and money.I guess the US needs to send more cash.We support half the world now so what's a bit more..NOT.
It is a pleasure to read that in a developing country womens rights are supported by the government.
So it's not alright for a woman to wear short skirts or trousers out in public but it's alright for men to beat them and strip them completely naked in public? Uh.....aren't they more indecent completely naked than in a short skirt or trousers? Anybody?
They best not underestimate women here in Texas, bring 'em on!!