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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/18/kenya-mob-strips-woman_n_6177608.html
KENYA – MOBS OF MEN ATTACK WOMEN FOR “INDECENT DRESS”
Kenya women protest for the right to wear whichever clothes they want, at a demonstration
In downtown Nairobi – November 17, 2014 - AP Photo: Ben Kurtis
By JASON STRAZIUSO
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A mob of Kenyan men attacked and stripped
a woman claiming she was inappropriately dressed just hours after nearly 1,000
people marched through downtown Nairobi to protest the rising wave of such
assaults.
Police responded by arresting nearly 100 people, a police
official said Tuesday.
Nairobi police criminal investigations chief Nicholas Kamwende
said Tuesday that about 80 of the men arrested were conductors on mini-buses,
known as matatus, where a lot of the recent sexual harassment has taken place.
The woman attacked Monday evening was taken to a hospital with injuries.
Kamwende called the attacks a "menace" and said police
would increase their vigilance to stem the tide of mob harassment.
The mobs of men have attacked women wearing mini-skirts and any
outfit they consider too revealing including tight-fitting or sleeveless
clothes.
The hashtag #MyDressMyChoice is trending in Kenya's social media
as this East African country sees a clash between new, Western lifestyles and
traditional African ways. The marchers on Monday demanded the right for women
to dress how they want without being harassed or attacked.
Deputy President William Ruto has weighed in on the issue by
saying Kenya is not a primitive society and that the attacking men must be
arrested.
Conservative groups have countered that women must dress
appropriately.
The women's march was organized after grainy mobile phone video
made the rounds on social media in Kenya. The video showed a mob of men
surround a woman and rip away her clothes until she was naked. Several such
videos have emerged in recent days, though women say such attacks have occurred
for years.
The attacks are not overtly religious in nature, though this is
a conservative, mostly Christian country. The women at the march said there has
been sexual harassment for years but it has escalated recently.
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