BY: Poverty Alfred Taban (Sudan)
Short skirts, tight trousers, shorts, and tops - I was choked and surprised when I first saw the Danish women way of dressing in real life, because women in southern Sudan may end up being arrested or even rapped by young men wearing clothes like the Danish women.
It seems that Danish women like to wear short skirt, pair of shorts and tight trousers or even slim fit. In my own opinion it seems like they are used to it and feels comfortable and confident dressed in this way and the government do not interfere.
The situation is quite different in southern Sudan. Here the tradition does not allow a dress code similar to the Danish because they find it being the western way of dressing, which may increase the rate of sexuality in the country, because such kind of dressing exposes the nakedness of women, which the tradition cannot allow.
Relating to the issue of such dressing many women were imprisoned last year for wearing tight trousers and “western clothes”. A female journalist was arrested, because she dressed in a pair of trouser but through media support she was luckily released.
Many of the students in southern Sudan are restricted to wear the school uniform and if they wish to differ from one another they are only allowed to use two peaces of private clothing. The explanation is that it is believed that they attract boys attention in school, and that they furthermore will end up going to discos.
Most tribes in southern Sudan don’t allow their children to put on trousers. And I don’t understand the importance of such kind restricted of dress code, but I am still not used to the women’s way of dressing in Denmark.