Significance Of Undressing By Women In African Culture

Women undressing as a way of showing dissatisfaction, is regarded immoral in many global cultures. However, in Africa, the perceptions are varied- some tribes have no problem with it, while the number of those who are critical of outrage nudity is also huge.

In the west, the practice of women undressing is done in gazetted areas like Casinos and bars, and photos showing women half naked are placed on billboards for advertisement and for other economic reasons.

In the dominant African set up, the perception is quite different, some feel and believe that, advertising half naked images on billboards is unethical and consider it a western culture.

Modern technology is gradually eroding a way the ‘conservative’ perceptions of African people on the way they look at different issues.

Since time immemorial, Africans have been performing their rituals as they danced while partially undressed.

To them it was and is normal; I can allude to the Zulu tribe in South Africa, the Swati in Swaziland,and the Karimajong in North-Eastern Uganda.

Tourists from different parts of the world flock to (Zulu land and Swaziland) with modern cameras to capture thefamous annual Reed dance

King Mswati, a symbol of unity of the Swati people, officiate the ceremony, one of the world’s most sought after annual tourist event.

The‘partial’ way of how Africans don on events, is almost the same as that of the western culture. The Europeans do modeling; put their naked or half naked images on billboards and so on.

As the western influence continues to spread and erase the African conservative cultures, one wonders if there is any significance in the undressing of an African woman.

The reed dance in Swaziland has impacted greatly on the development of that tiny Southern Africa kingdom, in terms of foreign exchange collected and cultural exchanges.

The King picks a new Queen at these functions, an act that connects the Swazi people to the central Government. This strengthens and creates harmony in their society. As a result poverty is likely to be reduced in the family from which the new queen comes from, hence, a great significance to the livelihood of the lucky family.

King Goodwill Zwelintini officiates the Zulu rituals; one of the many reasons for staging up these events ‘Reed dance’ is to examine, ‘ukuhlolwa’ girls who are still virgin. It is an honor in African culture for a girl to get married while she is a virgin.

Finding a grown up girl in Zulu or in any other African culturewithout her virginity, is an abominationto her family. Therefore decent girls ensure that, they protect themselves until they get officially married.

World cultures differ. In the west for example, if a girl turns sixteen, she is free to do what she wants with her life, and she is free to lose her virginity to some one of her choice.

In African culture it is totally different story, you must get married first before playing sex, it is the same beliefof many of Afro Arab states of North Africa.

It could be a blasphemy and bad manners in the US and the UK for a woman to show her boobs on a function, however, they do still undress in places like Casinos, Bars and Night clubs, and the matter remains the same,‘undressing’ .

When American singer Janet Jackson her co-dancer clipped off a piece of cloth covering one of her boobs on a music show, the incident was highly criticized in the U.S and the singer was forced to apologize.

An African woman for a very long time has been undressing to vent. If an African woman is ‘abused’ in any way and pushed to the wall, and has no body to lend a hand, she will voice her anger by undressing.

In Africa it is a belief that, if a woman publicly reveals her private parts to protest for being mistreated, the oppressor‘s life won’t be the same any more, and s/he will eventually die.

One wonders whether woman undressing has the same insinuation in the western culture.Some few years back, I witnessed a group of British women undressing at Birmingham palace in the U.K, protesting against the Kingdom.

Universally, woman undressing as a sign of protesting and revealing anger and grievance is not a new phenomenon. It has been done all over the globe and the trend continues.

Africans are gradually changing the practices and behaviors which are perceived ‘un ethical’ in society, like women undressing.

It must however, be noted that Islam, brought abouta tremendous change in the mind set andlife style of mankind and particularly a woman.Islam does not condonenudity for any reason- be it anger or happiness. The Quran (Al ahazaab 33: 59) gives a clear message on that matter ‘O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments. That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful’.

Renowned Islamic scholar, the late Ibn Baz commenting on nudity said thus: “The nudity of a woman is evidence of Allah’s anger towards her. That is why when God got angry with the first couple - Adam and Even (Hawa), He (God) uncovered that which was hidden of their private parts. So the angrier God gets with a woman, the more she exposes her nudity. The reverse is true. The more God loves a woman the more chaste and modest she becomes and she would cover her body completely”.

There are other decent ways that can be used by a woman to express her grievances and anger without revealing her body.

In final analysis one can argue that, western culture appears to be less perturbed on the issue of women undressing, partially or otherwise, provided a person is doing it ‘legally’. This is not the case with some conservative African societies. However, there those who have been brain washed and take the practice as normal expression of ritual or anger.

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