An association of local traders and vendors in Uganda stressed that the ban on female passengers in cabs was enacted in the name of safety. A women’s rights activist has strongly criticized the regulation.
A trade association in the town of Lira in northern Uganda has enacted a rule banning women from sitting in the cabs of trucks. Short skirts and bare skin are a distraction for drivers and would cause accidents, the reasoning was. Women’s rights activist Alice Mugwanya Kabijje criticized the rule as unnecessary and “male chauvinism in action”.
Takes effect immediately
The Association of Local Lira Traders and Vendors stressed that the ban on female passengers in the cab was issued in the name of safety. “Not even their wives” are allowed to take the drivers in the front seat. “Some wear short dresses that expose their thighs and distract drivers,” association chairman Opio Obote told AFP. “The drivers then build accidents and people die”.
The ban came into force with immediate effect and so far the drivers have adhered to the regulation. According to Obote, the decision to ban was made after the causes of the accident in the region had been investigated. In addition to excessive speed and a lack of discipline on the part of the drivers, “women in short dresses who take the drivers to pubs and drink alcohol with them” were also the cause of the traffic accidents.
A truck crashed near Lira last week. Nine dealers were killed in the accident and another 20 were injured. The police attributed the accident to excessive speed and reckless driving.
Ban contrary to Uganda’s constitution
Women’s rights activist Mugwanya said the regulation was “another attack on women by the Lira authorities”. The ban is “completely contrary to Uganda’s constitution,” which prohibits the exclusion from a profession based on gender, she told AFP. To justify a traffic accident with a certain style of clothing is also a “bad argument”. The regulation is proof of “how women are still treated worse in our society and many men would prefer to see them only in the kitchen”.
Source From: Stern
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