The Xeno-Philes X: Minis in Africa

Minis are in, it seems. So is aurora. (Dilettantes of the fashion world, such as yours truly, call Pantone aurora by its other name - yellow).

So this new fashion trend could be slightly problematic for many men amongst us (including our honourable Mr. Prez), who interpret knee length skirts (never mind minis) as a request for sex, or rape or whatever.

When Pansy lived in Europe, she never thought twice about what she wore when she went out. But when she's here, she typically never wears a mini dress in public unless she is with a guy. She has never really thought about it though - must be conditioning.

Africa is not very woman friendly, and it's definitely not single-woman friendly. A reader was recently hijacked and kidnapped by 5 armed men (this incident did not take place in S.A) although fortunately she was not physically assaulted.

A couple of years ago, an East African Ethics and Integrity minister called for the wearing of mini skirts to be declared an indecent act punishable under the national law. Furthermore, the minister said that mini skirts were the cause of many road accidents as drivers concentrated more on the curves on the women than the curves on the roads.

No matter. Yesterday Pansy had to pop to Cresta and thought to herself, "Oh I must change" (she was wearing a mini dress.) Then she stopped and thought to herself "Why the heck must I change to go the mall just because many men here still perceive women as their sexual objects?"

Pansy has never really thought about why women typically wear minis when they are protesting against violence against women, or demonstrating for women's lib causes. Up to know it wasn't directly relevant to her, until she heard about the kidnapping.

After the trip to Cresta, Pansy felt strangely liberated. It was the first time on African soil that she went out on her own wearing a mini dress.

The colour? Pantone croissant...a special kind of beige.