As the fight against sexual harassment in higher institutions of learning gains momentum, debate on ‘acceptable’ dress code has sharply divided opinion amongst stakeholders.
During a presentation on sexual harassment in higher institutions of learning at the 3-day International Conference for Gender Studies in Africa held at Makerere University recently, concerns popped up on whether the dress code should be looked at as a trigger for cases of sexual harassment.
Joab Agaba, a lecturer and a principal investigator on the vice under the gender main streaming directorate at Makerere university, sparked off the debate when he said that he had a bad experience with a female student he found to have dressed inappropriately during a lecture.
He noted that the discussion on sexual harassment would be incomplete without addressing the issue of the dress code, especially by female students.
“I had a bad experience on Friday, I was teaching the first-year students and when I was moving around, I met this girl at the back, she was putting on a miniskirt sitting with her legs were wide open, showing her knicker. I just moved on because I’m a mature man but I imagine what the boys around her were doing, whether they were concentrating in my class.” said Agaba.
Similar arguments came during the freshers orientation week at Kyambogo university early last month where students were cautioned to dress “decently” to guard against perpetrators of sexual harassment.
Some of the lecturers and students described inappropriate dressing as clothes that reveal parts of the body like thighs, breasts, the back and navel among others. Lydia Namatende, a lecturer from Kyambogo University who took part in the discussion, dismissed the thought, claiming that focusing on dress codes, especially for females was simply a scapegoat for perpetrators of sexual harassment.
“Dress code is very subjective. So if we start to use dress code as a measure against sexual harassment, then it is problematic because we shall start shifting. This whole idea of focusing on dress code is also part of policing women’s bodies, delegating to women what to wear, telling women what to do, how to dress up,” Namatende said.
Similarly, Prof Julius Kikooma, a lecturer at Makerere University explained that the discussion should be on morality rather than dress code. He said that African societies have their own cultural norms especially on morality that individuals are always expected to respect.
“The history of humanity especially in our heritage is such that there was a time when they were not even dressing. But were they harassing? I mean we had people who were engaged in positive relationship even when they were not dressed,” Kikooma submitted.
There were also similar controversies among students surrounding the dress code in light of sexual harassment. Steven Onyen, a first-year student at Makerere University noted that sexual harassment is a result of what a perpetrator’s mind is taught to perceive when they look at someone’s body without any connection to how the victim is dressed.
On the other hand, Steven Opio, a third-year student explained that looking at a female student dressed “indecently” in class can be very disruptive and that is why for a perpetrator who has no self-control abusing a student would be inevitable.
“You can [find] when some girl has exposed all her ‘things’…Yeah, it’s kinda of inconveniencing. I think time for lectures, they [indecent dressing] should be away like those guys of law,” he said.
While a committee set up to investigate matters of sexual harassment in 2018 at Makerere University rejected a proposal to introduce a dress code, some private institutions like Uganda Christian University (UCU), Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU) and Bishop Stuart University Mbarara adopted the guidelines for their learners.
UCU and Bishop Stuart University do not permit informal dressing during lectures and also while visiting offices, clothing such as sandals, ripped jeans, miniskirts and exposed tattoos among others are not permitted. At IUIU, students are expected to dress in loose long-sleeved dresses and must also veil their heads.
Though most of the students through interaction at Makerere University are opposed to the issue of a dress code. which they say constrains their freedom of expression that is unique to higher institutions of learning, they wish fellow learners could take up the responsibility to dress formally for class.
Specioza Kajumba, a third-year female student who does not agree with giving perpetrators of sexual harassment reason for sexual harassment noted that there is a need to limit that freedom too.
“To some extent there should be some limitation because if you don’t limit freedoms it is going to go overboard,” she said.
Vanita Kajumba too, another third-year female student explained that students should learn different clothes they wear for different events.
“Because there are times when you have to appear professional…If you come to class dressed in something extremely short, it won’t be bad but it will not just be discomforting for just your lecturer but also your classmates,” said Kajumba.
Nelson Ruto, a student from the college of humanities and social sciences, says that learners should not be quick to dismiss concerns of their dressed code whenever it comes up but instead learn to be cautious of how their dressing would affect others.
“We’re not being our brothers keepers, we do not care if we’re causing the men around us to sin in their minds because sin sin always starts in the mind before it materializes into anything. We do not care that much but if an individual were to be asked to dress better, I think they should just take it upon themselves to do it. Even I would do it if someone walked up to me and told me that shirt you are wearing is indecent, I would make the effort to make the difference,” he said.
Under a project launched in 2020 at Makerere dubbed Kick Sexual Harassment Out of Higher Institutions of Learning (KISH), students are taken through sensitization on sexual harassment and speaking up against it besides using it as a platform to report cases.
Prof Florence Bantebya, a principal investigator on sexual harassment at Makerere notes that the entire debate around the dress code stems from societal constructs that need to be corrected.
“This construction about the women’s bodies and their availability and how they should dress, it is all coded in the gender prescriptions and expectations. The men carry that one since childhood. This is why this project [KISH] actually has interventions for boys and men to engage and deconstruct the traditional masculinity that actually push them to do things that are not right,” said Bantebya.
A University World News-Journal published in 2017 notes that dress code in higher institutions of learning in Africa is a controversial issue citing reasons ranging from safety to educational benefits, culture and values.
“The link between dress and sexual harassment is highly controversial but it persists, even in academic circles, and potentially influences policy in some institutions,” the Journal reported. URN
