Indecent dressing has been a major concern, yet generates controversy across the globe. Some see the law against indecent dressing as the violation of human rights, especially the rights of women who they say have the rights to dress as it pleases them. But what constitutes indecent dressing and when can one be said to have dressed indecently?

Indecent dressing is an act of dressing in a way that is likely to shock or offend people. One can be said to have dressed indecently when for example a lady exposes some very sensitive parts of her body like the breasts and thighs.

In Nigeria, there is this trend of wearing trousers that expose the female underwear when a lady bends or sits down.

What baffles me is the alarming rate at which our youths in Nigeria tend to copy the Western culture whilst relegating our local cultures, norms and values to the background. It is absurd to know that most of these ladies deliberately dress indecently to seduce the opposite sex, while others do so in the name of fashion and civilsation. It is more shocking to know that some parents approve and even encourage this immoral attitude.

Some mothers, I learnt even go to the extent of buying seductive clothes for their daughters so as to attract men, not minding the negative consequences it will have on the future of these young ladies.

The youths copy the dress code of some entertainment celebrities who go almost nude just to market their products for fame and money.

Peer group pressure is another reason for thehigh rate of indecent dressing in Nigeria.  Young boys and girls dress indecently just to have a sense of  belonging among their friends. Some dress indecently to keep in touch with current trends in the society.

It is pertinent at this point to note that indecent dressing is not limited only to the female gender. The male gender has equally caught the bug. Sagging for example, was first heard about in American prisons. The prisoners were denied the use of belts as it was usually used as a weapon of mass destruction whenever conflicts erupted among them.

Regrettably, the Nigerian youths who sag do so out of sheer ignorance of what led to sagging by American prisoners. They sag even when they wear belts, leaving their trousers hang on their waist and thus exposing their boxers which are most times dirty and unkempt.

It must be stated that there are dangers that accompany indecent dressing in our society. Apart from devaluing our social norms,  it  also compromises our moral values as a people. It can lead to rape, thereby causing unwanted pregnancies and increase sexually transmitted diseases.

On our school campuses today, indecent dressing has become the norm rather than exception. Most students dress indecently to class and their lecturers do nothing about it.

Some female students even go as far as prostituting or sleeping around with their lecturers. You wonder what the supposed citadel of learning is turning into.

I think the school authorities in each of our universities, polytechnics and colleges of education need to do something urgent to arrest this moral decay.

The church is equally culpable of encouraging indecent dressing. A visit to most churches today shows brazen nudity on the pulpit. And most churches, rather than condemnining the act, excuse indecent dressing with a saying: “salvation is in the heart and not what you wear”.

The high rise of indecent dressing compelled the Lagos State House of Assembly to pass a law against indecent dressing in 2007. Unfortunately, the Press and the public condemned the law  and the massive arrest of ladies that followed it. The law was eventually scraped. Here, we can see that the effort of the government to curb indecent dressing have met a brickwall.

What then can be done to curb this menace that is posing threat to our moral value as a nation?

First of all, charity must begin at home. The moral laxity of the Nigerian youth is simply a reflection of the moral bankruptcy of our various families and the society at large.

Parents and guardians need proper re-orientation on how to bring up their children in decent way. Studies have shown that some mothers dress indecently and this has negatively affected the orientation and psyche of the girl child who sees nothing wrong in exposing sensitive parts of her body. Therefore, parents especially mothers should show good examples by dressing decently.

Parents should also monitor the association their children keep. In fact, there should be stringent measures at home as regards the dressing code and the friends their children keep.

Meanwhile, government, non-governmental organisations, religious bodies and schools have roles to play in moulding the character of our youths, as well as changing their orientation about copying negative values from the west. The youth should be taught that our bodies are the temple of God and therefore, we must keep it sacred. The way we dress tell a lot about us, our parents and the association we keep.

What makes us superior to animals is our sense of reason and our ability to discern what is good and bad. This is what should determine what we put on and not fashion.

Egwurugwu is a student of Mass Communication in Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt.

Chioma Queen Egwurugwu