As she passes the terminus, shock grips her as a group of aimless touts quickly surrounds her forcibly grabbing her handbag.
“Ndokupfeka here uku, mahure makunyanya muHarare manje tinozvipedza,” one of the touts is heard shouting.
The defenseless lady tries to resist but the more she ignores, the more the noise increases and soon a crowd forms around her.
Other passersby watch is despair as the lady battles to free herself from the ever increasing group of touts who appear likely to strip her naked.
Aimless touts prey on any women they feel is not properly dressed
Revealing clothing has often landed women into trouble with touts
Before they could go anywhere, the first group starts shouting all sorts of obscenities at the girl labeling her loose and a carrier of STIs.
The unfortunate incident strips the girl of her little confidence which result in her sobbing uncontrollably while the touts continue to boo and whistle and hoot their kombis creating commotion at the busy bus terminus.
A ‘messiah’ taxi driver appears from nowhere whisking away with the girl at a high speed leaving the touts breaking out in laughter.
The above tale is common situation women endure everyday at the hands of touts and dealers in the central business district of Harare.
In interviews with a number of women in Harare, they expressed deep concern over the increasing verbal abuse they face at the hands of touts.
“Touts are embarrassing and humiliating us on daily basis, I really lose my confidence as a woman each time they start calling me names.
I have the right to dress in a way that I feel comfortable and they harass me simply because they are men and think they define good and bad dressing,” fumed Rumbidzai Chademoyo a law student at the University of Zimbabwe.
Some women have blamed lack of support from fellows each time they encounter touts who harass and mock their dressing.
“Once they start booing and surrounding me I just cannot say a word, if I try to respond no one will support me and I end up seeming like a fool.
This is me and that’s how I dress therefore I can’t change so the only safe thing for me is to silently disappear from the scene,” said Nyaradzo Marimo a 23 year old till operator.
Ropafadzo Muungani, who resides in Mufakose, said this was an abuse of women’s freedom to look the way they want.
“If women are comfortable in skimpy dressing, they should not be subjected to harassment of any sort, people should focus on their business and stop harassing them,” Muungani said.
In some extreme cases, “touts have reached an extent of stripping off women’s clothes and jeering at them” said Angeline Mpofu, a witness of such circumstances in Bulawayo.
However touts justified their behavior saying if they do not act that way women will end up walking naked in broad daylight.
“People are afraid to tell the truth and that’s wrong…Vari kufamba vakashama and we have to tell them, we playing our role in preserving Africa values,” argued Tawanda Zinyandu, a City- Budiriro kombi conductor.
Israel Mawondo a tout who operates from Copa-Cabana bus terminus supported his colleagues’ behaviour saying that African values promote unity of purpose against disgraceful practices.
They say it takes a village to raise a child and we cannot allow these girls to lose values, they are like our sisters therefore cannot be allowed to go in public with disgraceful dressing. We are Africans and not Europeans or Americans,” Mawondo said.
Contrary to most touts’ argument, Mark Mawire, a kombi driver who plies the Harare-Bulawayo highway denounced his fellow colleagues’ lack of civilization and acceptance of moving times.
“These youths lack civilization and in most cases, they want to be known for that which should not be the case. You see in this industry if you don’t talk too much you don’t fit well in others.
For one to be labeled a hwindi you should be noisy and that’s a thing we need to do away with because we work with people and we should not chase them away through our bad behaviors. How people dress should not affect us”, Mawire added.
Other woman defended touts arguing that they were guarding against dilution and erosion of African norms and values.
Chiedza Moyo a 39 year old mother of four from Kuwadzana said she is strongly against wearing tiny and skinny outfits that potentially leaves little to the imagination.
“These girls are selling away the values of a real woman that we traditionally knew.
“It’s just like walking naked because everyone is seeing how your body is shaped. In our culture, a woman’s body is secret and shouldn’t be revealed to anyone except your husband. This is taboo to our society,” she said.
However, woman representative groups labeled touts’ behavior as harassment and called for responsible authorities to protect women from such negative actions which they said only serve to take away confidence from women.
Grace Wagoneka of Munhanga Affairs Forum said the problem stemmed from society’s grooming on how woman should behave and how they should dress.
She said the critical question is on what informs the idea of how woman should dress.
“You will realize that it’s the society and what is the nature of our society? Its patriarchal meaning that everything is male dominated and oriented. Hence because its patriarchy, it is definitely not favorable for women.”
Wagoneka also said the question that every tout should have is: “whose body is ‘naked’, if it’s not your body then why bother? Everyone has a right to do what they want with their bodies.
I therefore don’t support what these touts are doing, its harassment and its illegal. Their minds should be transformed from patriarchy to gender balances,” she said.
In the same vein, Lillian Mukuku of the Zimbabwe Young Woman’s Network for Peace Building (ZYWNP) said there is nothing wrong with any type of dressing as women will be expressing themselves and their sexuality in the way that is best in exercising their freedom of expression.
She said most touts have nothing better to do and feel threatened by women as most will be out of their league. Hence to get back the power they opt to defiling women by labeling them with socially unacceptable statuses such as prostitutes.
“There is no justification for calling in all sorts of verbal insults. This dressing will never stop due to the fashion sense that is ever evolving, so these touts should rather buy in than harass women.
Besides, they (touts) are not the only ones that seem to be working with the public and no one elected them to be our moral compass,” said Mukuku
She also criticized women in solidarity with touts saying they also seem not to have the courage to freely express themselves, so they should let those that can do so.
“They have to understand that culture is fluid, besides whose cultural values are they talking about? In the olden days, people used to wear ‘nhembe’, and it would make no difference, why should it now?” she asked.
Mukuku encouraged women to approach law enforcement agents so that justice can be meted out on those rogue touts as this is a serious issue.
