#MySkirtMyRight: Women in Madagascar fight sexism and victim-shaming by the government
Men's greedy need to assault women reduce as women wear modest clothes. It is therefore every parent's duty to guide their daughters toward the right path and stop them from wearing revealing clothes and exposing themselves.
This is the message (since deleted) that was published on the Ministry of Education's Facebook page on April 12, 2019, as the Malagasy government urged women not to wear revealing clothes in order to avoid being sexually assaulted.
In response, many Malagasy women shared pictures of themselves on social media wearing skirts or dresses using the hashtag #MaJupeMonDroit (My Skirt My Right) to voice their outrage at this sexist request that essentially shames victims instead of sanctioning men's aggressive behavior. Below is a screenshot of the Ministry of Education's original Facebook post in Malagasy, before it was taken down:
Screenshot of the Facebook post from the Ministry of Education on the 12th of April, requesting women to avoid wearing revealing clothes.
The wave of protests rapidly spread online in Madagascar. The movement was started on social media by the Malagasy NGO Nifin’Akanga, which is fighting to decriminalize abortion. On the same day of the Ministry's post, Nifin'Akanga responded quickly on Facebook, inviting the Malagasy online community to participate in an online campaign:
// Skirt challenge/// ? PLEASE SHARE !!
Take a selfie in an outfit that you like: a skirt, dress, etc..
Add the
#majupemondroit
My skirt, my right…
His zip, his problem with the law.
My body, my right
My uterus…not your decision!
They were joined by activists in the country and members of the Malagasy diaspora. Many activists also used the internationally-recognized hashtag #StopRapeCulture.
An editor in Madagascar's capital, Antananarivo, Soa Anina, listed on her blog 30 answers to 30 stereotypes of this movement. Here are a few of them:
No, the “sexual needs of predators” will not be kept under control this way, and certainly not if they benefit from the support of the Ministry. The government is only avoiding the issue by pointing the finger at the victim instead of the guilty abuser. No, it is not the responsibility of women to handle men's and boys’ behaviors: men have to learn to behave with dignity in all circumstances, and parents need to educate their boys to become men. (…) The truth is, no garment will ever protect you. It is not about the garment: the pervert perpetrates the crime, not because of his libido, but because he gets his pleasure from power, control, and domination, all unrelated to the clothing worn, even if deemed “too sexy”. The Malagasy word “fanolanana” is an accurate description of rape: bend it until its resistance weakens.
The protest storm continued and was amplified by the national newspapers and online publications. Nasolo Valiavo Andriamiahaja is an editor for the newspaper l'Express de Madagascar. He associates all types of restrictive policies on clothing with a regression of women's rights. He recalls an anecdote from the King of Morocco during his temporary forced exile in Madagascar:
The Moroccan writer Tahar ben Jelloun shares that the king of Morocco Mohammed V did not hesitate to show off his daughters without the scarf, upon his return from Antsirabe (a province of Madagascar) in 1956, where the French colonial administration had exiled him. “Between the nineteen fifties and the start of the nineteen eighties, most Moroccan women had stopped wearing the scarf. They were wearing the djellaba and kept their head uncovered. It was the Iranian revolution and Khomeyni's demagogic speeches that brought the scarf back.”
Following this uproar, the Ministry of Education formally apologized in a press release, putting an end to the storm:
An official statement from the Ministry published on Facebook explaining the withdrawal of the action against sexual assaults.
But for a number of activists and journalists like Antananarivo-based Mbolatiana Raveloarimisa, the fight is not over:
A lot of comments were trying to shame women instead of supporting the movement. This sad incident is only the catalyst that opened our eyes to a hidden reality. In Malagasy society, violence against women is only the tip of a huge iceberg. The entire administration is only the crystallization of a national silence on violence against women.
Fighting gender inequality and violence in Madagascar
10 March 2020 In Antananarivo the International Women’s Day (IWD) demonstration of Malagasy unions was the culmination of a week of training and capacity building on gender equality and gender-based violence (GBV).
The activities brought together female and male leaders, staff, and union representatives from all of IndustriALL’s Malagasy affiliates; SEKRIMA, FISEMA, USAM, and SVS.
The objective was to engage trade unions in combating gender discrimination in the world of work and within their organizations. Concrete steps were defined to increase women's leadership and membership.