Indecent dressing among students in the University of Uyo

BY JONAH IMOH

In recent years, there have  been issues on indecent   dressing of students in the higher institutions like universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.  Indecent appearances have come to characterize the dress pattern of many university students and the University of Uyo is no exception.  The students dress seductively having much to be desired.  What they call skirt is just about one inch longer than their underwear and they start struggling to sit on desks and picking something from the ground.  Apart from the fact that what they wear is skimpy, it is also transparent; revealing certain parts of the body that under normal dressing patterns should be hidden.

In the case of boys, their pattern of dressing is different.  It makes them to look so dirty and also unattractive with unkempt hairs and dirty jeans having pockets of holes deliberately created around the knees and the lower parts of the trousers allowed to flow on the ground because they go through their heels into their legs as socks.

The waist of their trousers are lowered and fastened tightly at the middle of the two bottom lobes to reveal their boxers (pants).  And when they are walking, they drag their legs and one of their hands particularly the left one, cupping their invisible scrotum as if they will fall to the ground if not supported.  Many of them because of how they dressed, had one time or the other become victim embarrassment from lecturers and fellow students.

Although there are no universally acceptable way or ways of dressing, dresses are meant to serve some definable purposes, country or region notwithstanding.  They are part of a peoples’ culture and they define their tribal or ethnic identity.  Apart from dresses being a means of identity, they are for ornamental or aesthetic purposes, for protection of the body against harsh weather conditions as well as for covering the intimate parts of the body.

These purposes are important especially as they form the major aspect of a person’s personality.  But as important as this purposes are, they have been defeated by Nigerian youths.  This un-African dress pattern among the youths of this generation has created lots of concern and worry among citizenry of the country.

Despite the fact that several lecturers drive the indecently dressed students away from class, the same students still tend to dress indecently to classes.  Most ladies claim that dressing indecently will make them to be admired or noticed in shape or beauty.

Michael Udoh, a 200 level History and International Studies feels that ladies dress indecently primarily to impress, imitate those who do, lack personal discipline and not parental discipline.  He further added that they dress indecently for temptation and seduction.

Indecent dressing on campus, no matter how well we try to link it with civilization has no place in African culture.  The African culture places so much prestige on the African woman whether in the western or African society. Indecent dressing is the major cause of assaults and sexual harassment recorded in the society overtime.  There is also a strong belief among some people that a large number of rape victims were victims of their mode of dressing.  As a result of this civilization, ladies dress half naked to school in the name of fashion.

The consequences of this habit is glaring, it debases womanhood.  It speaks evil of the society where it obtains; irresponsible, undisciplined, ungodly and greedy men are attracted and earn young girls rape.

The other negative consequences of indecent dressing have also been identified to include rape, prostitution, HIV/AIDS and other venereal diseases, infections as well as armed robbery and poor academic performance in school.
One needs more that a gift of discernment to distinguish a prostitute and a lady in provocative wears.  Like the old will always say “girls in decent attire are less likely to misbehave.”  This is very true to an extent.

There are several reasons why some students dress indecently because such a behavior is not developed overnight, but an accumulated behavioural pattern that could be attributed to the home (neglect and poor parenting).  The influence of home environment on the development of children is not in any way doubtful.  The home is every child’s first window to the outside world.  What the parent do with the child at this level in terms of training and orientation, go a long way to determining what the child becomes tomorrow. 

 

Most patents have no time to check their children’s wardrobe and the implication of this is that they can wear anything in the form of dress.  Apart from this issue of neglect, many parents especially mothers buy anything in the form of dress for their children, ignoring the need to be discreet and modest in the choice of dresses they buy and the children grow with this form of dress pattern and when they come of age, they find it difficult to depart from this behavior of life.  It is very rare to see any Uniuyo student tie wrapper to school.  Improper home upbringing is a major factor responsible for this moral problem.  When right values, beliefs and attitudes are concretely laid at the childhood stage, such a child is more likely to grow and develop later in life healthily.

Another factor which influences students to dress indecently is the society.  The child lives in a community and so he/she is influenced by what goes on in the community either directly or indirectly.  The arrant display of moral decadence in the form of corruption, indiscipline, prostitution, bribery and other forms of vices in the community at the full glare of youths and children call for great concern.  Not even parents, teachers, government officials and community leaders including the spiritual leaders have the moral right to challenge, correct and discipline erring youths and children because their states are not clean.  No section of the society, from the leaders to the lead can be exonerated from morality problems.

They wrong use of internet can also be attributed to the indecent dressing of the youths in schools.  Information and communication technology has helped to revolutionize the community tremendously.  It has through the use of internet, community satellites, mobile phones etc helped to bring people together, distance, culture and language notwithstanding.  

 

Through the activities of home videos, stat élites and other media agents, values and fashions are traded across cultures and nations.  In as much as ICT is helpful, consequential to humans and societal developments, the rate of abuse and un-regulatory ways they are used call for great concern.  Most of the youths and children that are exposed to some of their contents that are negative, most times so quickly become vulnerable.

Peer pressure is a force that gravitate friends together and most times for evil or negative tendencies.  The desire to belong and fear of rejection have led many youths into evil or immoral acts sometimes against their will.

The problem of indecent dressing requires an integrated approach because of its multifaceted causes.  Firstly, parents should serve as role models by teaching their children the fundamental things they need to learn about correct values, attitudes and beliefs.

Formation of a campus brigade to stand against indecent dressing by sensitizing and promoting good moral values particularly the dress pattern would go a long way in maintaining sanity among students.