A
mob of Kenyan men attacked and stripped a woman claiming she was
inappropriately dressed just hours after nearly 1,000 people marched
through downtown Nairobi to protest the rising wave of such assaults.
Police responded by arresting nearly 100 people, a police official said Tuesday.
Nairobi
police criminal investigations chief Nicholas Kamwende said Tuesday
that about 80 of the men arrested were conductors on mini-buses, known
as matatus, where a lot of the recent sexual harassment has taken place.
The woman attacked Monday evening was taken to a hospital with
injuries.
Kamwende called the attacks a "menace" and said police would increase their vigilance to stem the tide of mob harassment.
The
mobs of men have attacked women wearing mini-skirts and any outfit they
consider too revealing including tight-fitting or sleeveless clothes.
The
hashtag #MyDressMyChoice is trending in Kenya's social media as this
East African country sees a clash between new, Western lifestyles and
traditional African ways. The marchers on Monday demanded the right for
women to dress how they want without being harassed or attacked.
Deputy
President William Ruto has weighed in on the issue by saying Kenya is
not a primitive society and that the attacking men must be arrested.
Conservative groups have countered that women must dress appropriately.
The
women's march was organized after grainy mobile phone video made the
rounds on social media in Kenya. The video showed a mob of men surround a
woman and rip away her clothes until she was naked. Several such videos
have emerged in recent days, though women say such attacks have
occurred for years.
The attacks are not overtly
religious in nature, though this is a conservative, mostly Christian
country. The women at the march said there has been sexual harassment
for years but it has escalated recently.
Source: AP
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