To ban or not to?

Jude Johnnie, hair stylist
Banning them would be okay only if the ban is restricted to a particular time of the day, for example, they could ban them during the day, but permit people to put them on during the night. Why? Because, flaunting a miniskirt is the “on point” dress code during the night. Visit any bar or discotheque in town during the night, and you will lose count of ladies dressed in miniskirts. So they should simply regulate on the period when one can dress in a mini skirt.

Charles Lakareber, security guard
I do not mind whether the bill is passed or not, as long as those MPs are not given allowances and facilitation money for discussing it. I think that is a money-making scheme. It is mind baffling that those people get millions for talking about nonsensical laws yet some of us who work hard, under hard conditions, cannot even buy a bicycle at the end of the month. Let them discuss it as long as they are not given any money.

Steven Baliruno, boda boda cyclist
Do you know why many youths are not married lately? Because, there is no need to, since one can see the most of a woman’s body in a miniskirt. Back in the day, one would only see such after marrying. In fact, when wind blew a lady’s dress and you luckily saw her calf, that would be a privilege. But today, you can see as many legs in different colours and sizes. Who needs to marry yet they can see what they want on the street? It should be outlawed.

Safiina Nalubega, vendor
The miniskirt is one of the reasons I am worried about the kind of generation that my children are going to grow up in. There is no doubt that it is going to be a generation brimming with immorality. Though, one of the ways that that can be stemmed is by banning the miniskirt, among other ways. There is no difference between the old and the young. It becomes hard for some of us to convince our children that the miniskirt is indecent since they see ladies old enough to be their mothers, dressed in them.

James Sejjombwe, LC 1 chairman.
Banning the miniskirt is morally right, but the approach that is going to be used is what is paramount. Picture this, a parent dresses in a mini skirt and so does the child. So who is going to stop the other? Instead of suddenly stopping people from dressing in them, I think parents should be educated on the importance of not wearing them, as well as why they should not permit their daughters to wear them.

Deo Ibanda, doctor
A miniskirt is one of the interesting pieces of clothing to have happened to our society. Really, they should not ban them. Maybe they should regulate who should, and who should not wear a miniskirt; the plump ladies should be allowed to dress in them, while the slim ones should not. With a miniskirt, even though you cannot afford to propose to, and, marry a beautiful lady, you will console yourself with the fact that at least you have seen her body.

Carol Mulindwa, sales attendant
I know the issue that triggered the urge to ban them is decency. However, the definition of decency differs from one person to another. Personally, I do not feel any less decent when dressed in a miniskirt. In fact I even feel smart and confident. Also, for one to dress in a miniskirt is not over a whim, there are a number of circumstances that lead one to doing so, such as the weather and the schools one attended. A pregnant woman will dress in a miniskirt because it is hot and she feels comfortable in it. A student who went to a school where they dress in mini skirts most likely prefers donning a mini skirt, later in life. Let them think twice before banning our miniskirt.

Roy Nambogo Kisaalu, lawyer
That government seeks to regulate the way one dresses would be an intrusion on personal privacy. To dress in a particular way is a personal right. Although most of our cultures do not accept the miniskirt, I think it is important for us to face the reality – that the mini skirt is here. Actually, even men condone it. A receptionist dressed in a miniskirt could earn you a client. Therefore, I think they should simply give guidelines on how to dress in a miniskirt but they should not formulate a law which has legal implications, like, “Anyone found dressed in a miniskirt is liable for a fine of Shs10m or a three-months prison term or both.” They should simply offer guidelines.

Lydia Asano, model
I think our parliamentarians are bored. Let’s face it, there are more pressing issues that are worth being discussed in our Parliament than a sheer piece of cloth. Look at the state of our health and education sector. They are in a disgusting state. Besides, the world has changed in many aspects, fashion inclusive. The way people used to dress in the 1900s is not the way they are dressing today. The miniskirt is one of the fashion statements that have come with change in the fashion world, and that is why it has been embraced. Why hold us back?

David Kizza, businessman
To ban the miniskirt is to heal the problem rather than preventing it. I believe that our parliamentarians’ interest is the latter. See, if you ban the mini skirt while they are still being imported by the business folk, then the likelihood of the ban being effective is naught. I think the attention should be directed towards banning their importation. Also, I think that they should regulate the media because it is the source of people appreciating dressing in the miniskirt. You cannot ban the implementation of knowledge, while its source is still flowing. First, close the source.

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History of the miniskirt

From the ancient Greek tunic until the military tunic of Roman times, the very short tunic was exclusively worn by slaves and fighters. In the Middle Ages they were worn under the armour.

The earliest known culture to have females wear clothing resembling miniskirts were the Duan Qun Miao, which literally meant “short skirt Miao” in Chinese. This was in reference to the short miniskirts “that barely cover the buttocks” worn by women of the tribe, and which were “probably shocking” to observers in medieval and early modern times.

During her theatre performances in the Folies Bergère in Paris in 1926, Josephine Baker wore a sort of miniskirt made from bananas. In the 1950s, they could be seen in the science fiction films Flight to Mars, Devil Girl from Mars and Forbidden Planet.

- Wikipedia