Foreign Affairs and International Trade Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed has condemned the behaviour of undressing of women across the country as it taints the nation’s image internationally.
The CS said this following the ugly scene witnessed during the Malindi by-elections on March 7, 2016 when a businesswoman was roughed up and stripped by rowdy youths over voter bribery claims.
“Whenever the dignity of one of us (a Kenyan) is affected I think it talks a lot about us as a nation. We should not allow for the dignity of anyone to be taken away.
“Undressing a lady especially one of a certain age and the people doing it are much younger men, is a very ugly picture of our country,” CS Amina said.
She said the country’s image was being tainted due to such scenes.
“I care very much about the image of our country; Kenya is seen as very progressive, has done very well economically, and has very skilled manpower that is exported to other parts of the world.
NOT A GOOD PICTURE
“Now try to juxtapose that with a group of young men undressing an elderly lady. It is not a good picture. That is not the picture we would like to present to the rest of the world,” she noted.
The CS, who was speaking at a leadership and accountability forum at Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort in Mombasa organised by the Association of Women Accountants of Kenya, urged Kenyans to uphold the dignity of women in the society.
“This is not about the by-election politics. It is about the dignity of human beings because that woman is a wife, a mother, has sons, a husband and we must all work together to protect each other,” she added.
Ms Mohamed termed the act as discouraging, difficult, traumatising and hurtful to the woman, noting that it was not the first time it happened in the country.
She called on the media to take up the responsibility of creating awareness about protecting the image of the country.
“There is no way we can go out looking for jobs, trying to export labour, if on one hand it is said in that country young men undress women,” Ms Mohamed told the Nation.
She asked the relevant authorities to take up the matter.