Apart from food and shelter, dressing constitutes another important psychological need of man. Man dresses primarily to cover nakedness and to have warmth in cold weather.
The concept of dressing started from the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve used leaves to cover their nakedness. Right from then, dressing had become part of human being ranging from born baby to the aged.
There are different modes of dressing around the world reflecting the various available cultures. A particular mode of dressing can be used to identify a certain society as a people. But regrettably, in the present day society, dressings reflecting people’s cultural background and scriptural admonition have been thrown to the dogs.
A popular saying have that “the way you dress is how people will address you”. This buttress the fact that the way you dress speaks a lot about you.
A dress as defined by Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary Edition 6th as “a piece of women’s clothing that is made in one piece and covers the body down to the legs. Sometimes reaching to below the knees or to the ankles”. But to some of our female folks, the reverse is the case.
Some ladies have thrown away their values, and our beloved culture as Africans to embrace the western ways of dressing. They have forgotten that they are typical Africans which is cultured, and is expected to always cover the sensitive parts of their bodies.
What most of our ladies put on as skirts or gowns are just an inch longer than the underwear. Whenever, they put on such dresses, they struggle to sit down, let alone bend down or stretch their legs.
Apart from the skimpy and tight nature of these dresses, they are also transparent; revealing certain parts of their bodies to the frown and embarrassment of decent people.
From my case study, maybe the present age want to return to the blind days of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden when nudity was the order of the day because I am yet to understand why a decent, virtuous and responsible woman would comfortably display her nakedness all in the name of fashion.
Dressing in a manner that parents, society and religion frown at is not civilization. The way you dress show whether you are respected or not, responsible or irresponsible, serious minded or unserious. Most youths now walk on the streets half naked, with tattered clothes all in the name of fashion.
Today in various churches, ladies dress the way they like in all manner of designs thereby exposing either their cleavages or their thighs all in the name of dressing and the next thing you hear is “it is not the body that matters but the mind.” Ofcourse, the Bible also says “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh”. It is what is in the mind that reflects on the outside.
It is sad, unfortunate, uncalled for, barbaric and inhumane the ways Nigerians dress nowadays, especially on our streets, tertiary institutions, public places including the worship places and places of work. The unprecedented level of exposure of nakedness from children to adults is alarming and urgently need a redress by enacting a law that will check indecent dressing, pornography and all other immoral activities in Nigeria.
The rate of indecent dressing is fast becoming a new way of life. If one goes to our tertiary institutions, you will be surprised and heartbroken. You will see students that are been trained to be the future leaders of Nigeria in funny attires.
The need for a just, moral and discipline society is crucial for the development of the society. In Nigeria, virtually all traditions and cultures are decent and morality promoters. There can never be morality and discipline without decency; decency in clothing, interaction and social intercourse.
Dressing was supposed to make you comfortable, acceptable by the society and most importantly glorify God. Whatever, you wear and you know within yourself that not befitting or good enough and could cause confusion should not be worn at all. Your dressing is supposed to bring you dignity, respect and identification.
The prime function of dressing was to protect the body from the environment, a mark of identify and a means of nonverbal communication among others.
Indecent dressing does not add to one’s beauty nor makes one a ‘big girl’ as many ladies wrongly assume. It rather takes away one’s dignity and exposes one to ridicule and embarrassment. There is no doubt that a lot of sex related problems such as rape and other forms of sexual abuse will be reduced in the society, if the ladies can strike a balance between modernity and modesty. ###
Edith Nse Friday
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