People are free to wear anything, if they want they can even move naked, says Mumbi Phiri

THE Patriotic Front (PF) deputy secretary general Mumbi Phiri says in Zambia, people are free to wear anything, adding that if they want they can even move naked because the country has no dress code.

Speaking on a Joy FM radio programme, Mrs. Phiri distanced her party from the indecent clothes printed ‘Vote PF’ being worn by women and girls.

Pictures of young girls and women indecently dressed in tight body tops and leggings printed ‘Vote PF’ have gone viral and this has agitated members of the public.

But Mrs. Phiri said the PF had not printed any indecent party regalia apart from the chitenge, hats, work suits, overalls and jumpers.

“They have been telling us, some of these rape cases which are happening, it’s because of the way we dress we are enticing men. We refuse, we say have the freedom to dress the way we want to dress. And it’s up to me as a parent to teach my children in the way they should grow. If I stand up and I go and dress my daughter she is coming from a home, and you expect Mumbi to correct a wrong, we can’t,” Mrs. Phiri said.

“You are the same girls who start complaining. Have you ever seen me wearing leggings like that? No! People are free to dress the way they dress and we can’t cage them. Even in UPND, I have seen women wearing red dresses, some bubus, some bum shorts, you can’t stop them.
They buy their own clothes, they go and print, as PF we can’t stop them. They are using their own money.”

Mrs. Phiri said it would be wrong if it was the PF printing regalia in form of leggings to give children and women to expose themselves.

She said the regalia that had been printed by the PF so far was chitenge, scarves, overall, work suits, cold season jumpers and that the party had not printed any leggings or bum shorts.

Mrs. Phiri said the indecent clothes that were being worn by women on the streets printed PF were being done by individuals.

Asked why the PF had not taken any legal action concerning the indecent clothes printed PF that women were wearing, Mrs. Phiri said: “The picture which is in Today’s (yesterday) Post, the faces are not even seen. The PF party is the biggest political party in Zambia. We can’t know if those pictures were taken in Sha’ngombo, if they were taken from Nabwalya Chiwombo, or if they were taken from Msanzala in Petauke. It’s difficult. We don’t know every member by their faces and as I said, people in Zambia, we don’t have a dress code. If it was in Uganda, people could be told what to wear but we don’t have a dress code and anybody is free to even to move naked.”

Mrs.Phiri said people were free to wear what they were comfortable with adding that the issue of the dress code had been a contentious issue for a long time.