Provocative dresses promote promiscuity - Asmah

Mrs Gladys Asmah, Minister for Women and Children Affairs, on Monday condemned some provocative dresses young ladies wear lately saying they promote promiscuity.

She said short and transparent dresses worn by some ladies virtually expose some parts of their bodies, which should have been covered. Such dressing entices men and was the root cause of "cause of rape, defilement...."

Mrs Asmah said this when she opened a five-day workshop on Mother-to-Child HIV/AIDS Transmission in Accra for 60 participants from non-governmental organisations and community-based organisations from Central, Western, Eastern, Ashanti and Greater Accra regions under the theme "Mother-to-Child HIV/AIDS Transmission: Our Concern".

She said men who abuse these girls because they might have been dressed provocatively were causing a lot of societal dislocation and associated problems.

Mrs Asmah said many parents today have failed woefully in training their children, especially the females, on how to present themselves decently in public.

"These provocative dress styles border generally on indiscipline and connote an apparent situation of a society without values and moral standards,” she noted citing that there were instances where raped victims have been infected with the HIV/AIDS virus.

She noted that her ministry in collaboration with Kofi Ansah, a renowned fashion designer, would as from next Easter introduce new collections of clothes named "Akatesia Designs".

This, she said, would check the provocative dress styles since the new collection would be sewn in such a way that they would cover all the sensitive parts of the woman.

She urged parents to check the dressing of their children, especially the females, and ensure that they put on decent dresses to prevent any embarrassment.