Indecent dressing is a social illness practiced by the youth. It simply means an act of deliberately exposing one’s self to the public. The practice does not comply with the norms, value and culture of the society, particularly in Africa. It is hard for wrong doing to be corrected in places like; churches, offices, because the result in doing so will be hatred, malice, condemnation and so on. It is a habit embraced by all age in the society. It has been inculcated by the young of nowadays.
Indecency is an order of the day in our present black community. It is said that the way one dresses will determine the way one will be addressed. It is a complete shame that most of our youth are dressed in “stylish rags,” and very much unlike the olden days when decent dressing was the pride. In fact, some parents would even allow their sons and daughter to wear appalling dresses and attires. How disgraceful!
A 300-level female student was raped in the school environment at night. When the culprit was arrested and questioned, he defended himself, saying’ it’s not my fault that I raped her, she wanted it herself. I was sitting and reading on my own when she entered the class, she wore net singlet revealing the red bra she wore. Even her bra could not cover the breast, her skimpy black skirt was a sharpshooter and I’m sure she deliberately wore white panties to expose herself well. She bends right in front of me so I got the signal, that was what led me to have a carnal knowledge of her”.
Anything that is put on that can irritate, appall, intimidate, and rouse the sexual urge of the opposite sex is an indecent dressing. Some people would think of females at the mention of this case, but it is not true; a guy can dress indecently too. Any guy that looks around in an environment and sees females staring at him with an indecent look and manner should check the way he is dressed first. The major cause of assault and sexual harassment recorded in the society are many.
Civilization which is an advanced stage of social development has played a negative role in the life of the youth. In today’s Nigeria, over exposure to foreign culture through modern day channels of mass communication like satellite, broadcast, internet and unregulated pirated videos have taken toll on the moral rectitude of the youth, especially girls .Dresses that are meant as stage costumes for musicians and actresses are misconstrued by gullible female students as everyday wears. As a result of this, ladies dress half naked to school, all in the name of fashion. Imitation plays a negative role in the life of the youth nowadays. When someone does a thing either good or bad, when someone dresses decently or indecently, another person will therefore imitate them. Innocent boys and girls have been a subject of arrest due to the act of imitating one’s attitude, dressing or behavior. Nowadays, boys’ styles like sagging, hot bosom, low waist etc are unfortunate societal illness which has eaten deep by the youth. It is common among people that so much love to be like one person i.e. when someone is taken as a role model, particularly among the musician and artist. This set of people while on stage will want to look unique and in the process turn themselves to lunatics and due to the rate at which they love them, whatever their respective role model do, either positive or negative, wearing decent or indecent dress, they will also imitate. Most of the youth engage themselves in wearing indecent dresses as a result of what they watch on television, as well as what they see among their mates, which they tends to imitate
Inferiority complex which refers to general feeling of not being up to standard has played a negative role in the life of the youth think they are not beautiful enough and want to make up for their “ugliness. They tend to expose their body to attract attention to make them beautiful. It is common among the females.
As the English man said, there nothing in this world that doesn’t have side effect. Some of the effect that indecent dressing has constituted are many.
Sexual harassment is most common among the youth of nowadays. There is the likelihood that ladies who dress indecently could be prone to it .
Wearing skimpy or body exposing dresses which are known in the ancient Africa are referred to as dress pattern. Most ladies found in such dresses are always negotiated for sex. Because they are into prostitution. Most ladies found in this are sometimes without husbands
Ritual killing is another effect, particularly among the females .Most ladies who love money more than their lifes are used for money ritual. Many of them based on their mode of dressing were invited by men for a supposed sex only to be murdered by ritual killers
Poor performance in their academics is so common. Most females in this form of dress tend to have little or no serious time for their academics work, they become useless to themselves, their parent, their community as a whole.
Even at these it is not enough that we stop them, but we should go ahead in educating others for the necessity to stop it too. If corruption and social decadence will end, it will be that the highest population of youth in this country have turned a new leaf and are now living a decent and Godly life. Parent should be mindful of what their children put on to parties (birthday, social) and other social functions. The schools should have a law that students should not be caught wearing some kinds of clothes. The movie/music producer must find the right costumes for the artiste. The employers should have a dressing code for their organization. The mass media must promote good moral values. Religious leaders should preach against it. Indecency is the root of immorality and the father of sexual harassment and abuse. Let’s join hands together to put an end to immorality and corruption in this country through decent dressing.
Adapted from: Afolabi Olumide