Last year two matatu crew from Githurai were jailed for life after they were found guilty of among other offences stripping a female passenger whom they argued had dressed indecently.
A video that went viral online prompting the arrest of the two culprits shows a huge crowd watching the helpless lady being harassed but could not even help her save for one man who is heard begging the two to let the lady go.
This could mean that majority of the people in that crowd were silently in agreement with what the culprits were doing to the poor lady who is said to have donned a revealing miniskirt on the fateful day.
This occurrence is just an anecdote of what several other ladies who opt to wear miniskirts undergo regularly with the self-appointed moral vigilantes arguing that they do it to protect African moral values.
But are they right in their argument? Well, according to Gikuyu Centre of Cultural Studies (GCCS), nothing could be further from the truth.
"This is a bit strange as even a cursory glance at African traditional dress and the dressing mode of some of the tribes still untouched by western values even today reveals a wonderful celebration of the human body and a matter of fact acceptance of nakedness," documents GCCS.
According to the cultural centre, there were no issues of exposure as 'strong leg calves (ikere) and thighs (ciero) were highly valued as symbols of strong motherhood and were not seen as nakedness'.
The issue of miniskirts and 'indecent exposure', GCCS notes, was brought about by the colonisers who perceived it as 'obscene and primitive'.
"The Gikuyu women needed the short skirt as it was an appropriate working garment that gave the knees and legs a lot of freedom," the cultural centre adds.
#MyLifestyle