Modesty amongst men
and women is a natural instinct dating back to Adam and Eve who used fig leaf to cover their nakedness as recorded in the Bible. Not satisfied with the make-shift fig leaf aprons, God himself became the first dress-maker He further admonishes women to adorn themselves modestly and sensibly in seemly apparel and with a virtuous life. However in recent times, so much importance is given to the outward forms of beauty while the main aspect goes “unhonoured and unsung”.
Status symbols have never had more power than they have today because modern liberalism treats modesty as dull and unattractive. Thus, all sorts of names are given to the few who still struggle to appear decent such as Mary-Amaka, Juu-guy, Deeper-life, Holy-nwa-eje etc.
As social beings, we all want to be loved and accepted, to belong and to blend in. Thus, most people in a bid to belong allow the trend of things to set the standard for them. As a result, they lose their true identity and charm and become poor carbon copies of the famous beauties they initate and so end up more bewitched than bewitching.
Beauty is a tricky business. It changes from country to country, from decade to decade and from man to man. But despite this variation, every culture has an acceptable dress code. Any code that deviates from the acceptable set moral standard of the people is termed indecent. Indecent dressing has eaten deep into the fabric of the society. A keen observer will notice that it is now difficult to differentiate a man from a woman, a woman from a girl or an insane from a sane person. People dress any how they like all in the name of fashion. This unwholesome disease has negative sequences which may not be known to those who dress immodestly. It is in this light that this write up examines the causes and effects of indecent dressing and suggests ways to uproot it from the human society.
Clothes reflect the aspirations and psyche of the wearer. Clothing no matter how artfully designed, how fashionably styled must always be judged on the basis of its relationship to the wearer. There are clothes for various occasions namely,’ office, wedding, dance, party or informal get-together etc. Thus, some clothings are inappropriate for some occasions, place, time and age while some are. Any pattern of dressing that does not put this into consideration and that is also likely to shock or offend people is termed indecent dressing.
Your dressing can shock or offend people when parts of the body that should be covered such as the breasts, thighs, buttocks, back, armpit etc are unduly exposed or when your dressing unduly reveals your figure or body parts or when your dressing reveal your under-wears i.e. the bra, pants, singlet etc. Again, indecent dressing is not restricted to clothes, there are also indecent hair styles, make-ups foot wears etc.
Most people accept hook, line and sinker all they see around. They trust their fashion magazine implicitly and so are easily swept off by the fashion in vogue all in the bid to be beautiful. Thus, when the issue of indecent dressing is raised, modern liberalism immediately invokes liberty of conscience and advances all kinds of false arguments such as,
·  What is wrong with what I am wearing? (something is wrong because the opposite sex can be provoked by your exposed body).
·  Those who see me this way are not forced to sin (your indifference can coax others into sin).
·  Every other person dresses this way (you should not be like others. Every human person has the freedom, privilege and duty to pursue virtue).
·  I do not mean to do evil (yes but you can send the wrong signal with body language),
·  I feel I should be in style and up-to-date (moral law does not change with style and popular taste),
·  There is no universal standard for modesty (there is, consult the accepted ethical norms of your people),
·  I refuse to be a bigot and hypocrite (there is nothing false about being decent).
·  Men want me this way (one day you will render an account to God not to your husband or boyfriend).
·  Beauty is supposed to be seen (yes but beauty may be living or dead. Living if it attracts souls to goodness not evil)
·  It is the heart that matters (yes but Christians are meant to be light of the world).
·  But I feel hot (the same people who dress scantily to church and other sacred places because of  heat, dress modestly to the law court and other civil offices)
·  There are bigger problems and bigger evils than this (yes but evil is evil).
·  One can sag responsibly (there is nothing responsible about sagging).
Some examples of indecent dressing for females include, all types of scanty wear such as, spaghetti tops, sun-suits, off shoulder; all types of ostentatious or over ornamented wears such as bum-shorts, knickers, body hugs, miniskirts, tight fitting slacks or jeans, sheer and transparent outfits, low waist(sagging),  off-colour hair-dos, heavy make-ups, artificial nails or eye lashes etc. And for the males, earrings, tight fitting T-shirts and jeans, braiding, permed hairs, plaited hairs, shirts or any wear revealing the arm pit for male, low waist etc. Others are some beauty enhancement therapies such tattoos, breast enlargement or reduction, facial up lift, hip enlargement, tummy trunk etc.
In recent times, virtue is sadly on the verge of extinction. There is total lose of the sense of the sacred. People dress any how even to Church and sacred places. It is unfortunate that most people  who suffer from identity crisis copy all sorts of  fashions introduced  by  fashion designers. They forget that every action we take has either a positive or negative effect on our family and the society in general.
Indecent dressing can  sexual harassment, rape, unwanted pregnancies, ritual killing, acid bathe, road accident, lying, stealing, etc. This is because since the original sin, appetite for sex in all men and women is not always subject to direct control of the will and intellect. This appetite is so powerful that it does not take much to arouse the desire of the procreative faculty. As a result of this weakness it is imperative to safeguard virtue by dressing modestly in strict justice and charity. A keen observer will easily notice the high rate of sexual promiscuity among the youth. Incest is now even common in the society. These evils are possible because you are addressed the way you dress.
On the other hand, modesty in dress helps safeguard the virtue of purity and is demanded by the mortal laws of God. Decent dressing depends 6n good taste and good judgment. which is defined as a refined look, leaning more towards the conservative and simple than a flamboyant spectacular look. While good judgement is self-awareness i.e. a clear picture of whom and what you are, your goals in life, your values and beliefs as well as the accepted ethical norms of your culture.
Thus, decent dresses in a typical African society have sleeves extending to at least the elbows (or quarter-length sleeves because of impossible market conditions) and skirts reaching below the knees. Decent dresses require full coverage for the body, chest, shoulders and back and conceal rather  than reveal the figure of the wearer. Women and girls who follow these standards will have no problem of modesty in dress.
The problem of indecent dressing requires an integrated approach because of its manifold causes and effects. To curb the menace of indecent dressing in the society, parents should serve as role models. They should by words and examples emulate the virtues of modesty and chastity. A mother who dresses decently can easily inculcate it in her children and vice versa.
Civil and religious laws should be enacted and enforced by the government and all relevant agencies to check the abuse of indecent dressing. Churches and religious bodies should go an extra mile to champion this cause.

Marie C. Obasi

A typical example of indecent dressing