The Nation Newspaper

Tag: dresses

  • Osun’s school dresses

    Those who watched media clips of Baptist High School pupils, Iwo Osun State,would have been amazed at the sight of students dressed in sundry religious apparel. There were those in hijab (veil); choir dresses while others appeared in flowing white garment clothes – apparently denoting the religious mix in that particular school. Of course, there were others who appeared in their usual school uniform unmindful of the seeming dressing competition.

    The situation looked quite confused. A young man who was taken aback by the scenario could not help but exclaim “religious dresses on parade”! That was the situation in that school and it had its roots in a recent court judgment which permitted female Muslim students to attend classes in hijab.

    A suit filed in 2013 by the Muslim community against the Osun State government, had asked the court to grant Muslim students the use of hijab in some public schools where they were being harassed and discriminated against.

    Their counsel premised his argument on the decision of the Court of Appeal, Ilorin between the Provost of the College of Education and one BasiratSaliu and noted that female Catholics wear veil, Mary mother of Jesus always appears in picture with veil on her head. He then prayed the court to allow female Muslim students wear veil in those schools since they have been wearing it in accordance with the 2004 directive of the state government.

    Justice JideFalola premised his judgment on section 38 of the Nigerian constitution and Article 8 of the 2004 policy published by the state ministry of education and restrained the state government from disallowing female Muslim students the use hijab in its schools.

    But the Christian Association of Nigeria, (CAN) Osun State chapter did not take kindly to the matter. It has not only accused the state government of plans to Islamize the state but vowed to resist any move to implement the ruling. It went ahead to order Christian students in all schools founded by Christians to wear Christian garments and vestments as part of their school uniforms. The students who appeared in sundry Christian apparels and vestments were only following the directive of the Christian body which has also indicated its intention to appeal the ruling.

    The development generated serious tension with the state government threatening to expel students who disobey the official uniform. But the threats did not change the situation as the students, apparently buoyed by the support of the Christian body defied government threats for three consecutive days.

    An attempt to stop them at the school gate nearly resulted in crisis but for the timely intervention of the traditional ruler of the community. For now, grave yard peace pervades the state as both Muslim and Christian leaders have resolved to maintain the peace so that the legal battle will run full circle.

    That appears the most sensible thing to do since CAN has indicated intention to appeal the ruling. It has no doubt, drawn copious attention to its position on the ruling and cannot go beyond that without prejudicing the very appeal it seeks to file.

    At issue however, is why the use of hijab has become so contentious in Osun school system? This poser is pertinent when it is realized that state takeover of schools in the state dates back to 1975. If Muslim and Christian students in the state co-habited without any shred of suspicion and antagonism for over 30 years, why has the hijab suddenly become an issue? Why did the Christian schools before now operate without problems even as they were being run by the government? Why has the use of veil become such an issue that the Muslim community in that state had to approach the court to enforce the rights of their students to wear it to school?

    The ugly development has its roots in a recent policy of the state government to merge and re-classify schools. In some of these schools, the Christian groups that founded them have their churches and other places of religious worship domiciled in those premises. They have their own established tradition fashioned along the line of the founders. And this has worked out fairly for them especially as some of them were single sex schools.

    With the merger, they had expected that any student in their system would be brought up in their tradition since both Muslim and Christian students had co-habited without any problem. But soon, the issue of hijab resonated with the Muslim community approaching the court for their rights to be enforced.

    This of course, raised genuine suspicions. The Christian groups saw it as an attempt to Islamize the state. Though the court ruled in favor of the use of hijab in the schools, it is obvious from current events that that ruling is fraught with serious problems for peace, harmony and order in that state. For, rather than the takeover and merger of schools acting as a melting pot for sectional, religious and primordial differences, they have curiously become an embarrassing reinforcement of these ugly tendencies.

    That is quite unfortunate, to say the least. It may be convenient for the Osun state government to wash its hands off the current controversy on the guise that it was the one that was sued. That the Judge cited article 8 of the 2004 policy published by the state ministry of education on the matter, meant there is a state policy on it.

    Given the forgoing, it would be a herculean task to convince the Christian groups that the government is not remotely behind the controversy. This writer was in class three in a seminary when the then East Central State government took over schools immediately after the civil war. We were during that period, given an essay on the takeover of mission schools.

    I did argue in support of the takeover, citing my experience while growing up in a village catholic primary school. Then, it was a harvest of antagonism and discrimination between pupils of the Catholic faith and those of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) (now called Anglican)

    The way CMS was presented to us made us loathe anything having to do with their pupils. Not unexpectedly, this resulted to abuses, quarrels and occasional fights between pupils of both schools especially while going home after classes. Iargued in that essay that takeover of schools will eliminate all that negative indoctrination and the attendant rivalry and antagonism.I remember very vividly that my teacher, a Reverend, noted in my script: Are you sure?  But to my big surprise, he still scored me very well.

    Given this background, one can then understand the huge contradiction in the agitation for the use of a particular religious veil in government schools in Osun State so many years after. And if one may ask, what then happens to the veils of other religions as counsel to the Muslim community rightly pointed out. Will Catholics then approach the court to enforce their rights to veils? And what type of future shall we be erecting in the minds of impressionable youths who are being introduced to religious bigotry so early in their lives?

    These are some of the inherent contradictions. And if one may ask, how much value does the use of hijab hold in the educational advancement of Muslim students especially in a state that is largely reputed for its high level of religious tolerance and understanding? It would appear that the matter is an unnecessary distraction with loaded prospects of rupturing the peace of the state. There are a myriad of challenges of the ordinary citizens that require the attention of the government than the dissipation of energy over such mundane issues.

    Beyond this, the controversy highlights the contradictions in government policy on the takeover of schools. It also brings to the fore the incongruity in the merger and re-classification. If these policies are incapable of improving on a subsisting order, it is better to maintain the status quo.

  • Pocket dresses: celebs must have!

    Pocket dresses: celebs must have!

    POCKET trend seems to be hot on celebrity fashion lists this season and there are a number of styles to choose from. Here we have Ene Maya Lawani, Dorcas Shola Faspson, Omoyemi Akerele and Waje, all showing off their fabulous figures and must-have designs.

    As for Memry Savanhu’s outfit, it’s so classy and sexy. She is wearing a two-tone dress and black clutch. All the girls show off their pockets by placing their hands in them.

  • Indecent dresses against African values

    Viewed from any angle, Nigerians are perhaps the most fashionable set of people in the world. This is evident in every tribe inhabiting the country, irrespective of social status, religion or gender. The three major tribes, Ibo, Hausa and Yoruba are beautiful to behold in their various traditional attires, not to mention hundreds of other tribes.

    For generations, Nigeria, when it comes to fashion, had always been in the eyes of the world; all the best and expensive materials from all parts of the world are made for us. Lace, silk, Guinea brocade, damask, voile, just name it. This is really obvious from the large volumes of imported materials sold in the country. And so, the instinct of looking good, for centuries, had been passed down from generations to generations. Nigerian parties, especially where the celebrating families are wealthy, are carnivals of sorts. In fact, in places of worship where uniforms are not stipulated, one would see an average Nigerian in his or her local attire. Besides, Nigerian campuses are also not left out of this.

    Fast forward to the 21st century and we could ask ourselves what we did wrong. Nigerian campuses today are the picture of what the society has become. To be deemed fashionable and “in town” now on our campuses, one would have to sacrifice one’s morality, especially for female undergraduates. There have been numerous cases whereby parents visit their wards unexpectedly on campus and find them quite different from the person they raised at home.

    For female undergraduates to be trendy and win the coveted “most fashionable diva on campus”, they must dare the impossible. The more provocative, daring and skimpy their clothes are, the more their social status rises. For the guys nowadays, you just have to slim-fit and sag those trousers of yours and wear expensive shirts and jewelry.

    Therefore, it is not surprising anymore to find skimpy shorts and cleavage-revealing dresses on young female undergraduates. The guys now compete with the ladies wearing earrings and slim-fitted trousers. Though most universities, especially private ones, are trying to clamp down on extreme fashion on their campuses by stipulating dress codes for departments and schools, the battle is yet to be won especially after lecture hours, when students are free to dress as they wish. This trend of obscene fashion has made some female students victims of harassment from randy lecturers and other male students. Most times, most ladies who suffer harassment are the ones who dress indecently.

    Conclusively, my advice to parents is that, apart from grooming their wards at home, they should endeavour to visit them in school regularly and to also speak to some of their lecturers to assess their behaviour and performance, so as to reduce the influence of peer pressure.

     

    John, 200-Level Business Administration, AAUA

  • Skimpy dresses on campus

    In many higher institutions, fashion styles, such as colour rioting and colour squashing, have been the trend, especially among the female students. The fad of colour blocking started some years back in the United States when celebrities donned various combinations of colour for red carpet events.

    American celebrities like Kim Kardashian made appeared in the public wearing orange and purple. Soon, many began to catch the bug and it spread across continents like a wild fire.

    One-time American editor of Vogue, Liz Tilberis, said: “A love of fashion makes the economy go round.”

    Perhaps, there is an iota of truth in the aphorism given the sophisticated level Nigerian girls have taken colour blocking to.

    At the University of Calabar (UNICAL), for instance, a female hand bag that costs between N4,500 and N6,000 is matched with a pair of jean and expensive tops of varying colours. Girls can go wrong if the colours are too much, or else they end up looking like a rainbow.

    Wearing different colour in a way that will not be offensive brings attention by making one look colourful and cheerful. Some wear it because it is trendy. Colour blocking, to me, is creativity because it expresses oneself in whatever colour one can combine. It is the trend that commands people’s attention. But the ugly part of it is that some abuse the trend, wearing colours that make the face blanch.

    For instance, this writer was invited by a friend to a fellowship sometime ago. Suddenly, a lady, wearing a sleeveless V-neck black gown with a white scarf, walked in. The attire hardly buried her cleavage. As she walked, she tried to pull the gown down as though she was forced to wear it.

    Perhaps, she noticed the attention on her, her handkerchief dropped. Instead of bending down to pick it, she opted to squat and picked it in order not to further expose some sensitive parts of her body. It took her minutes to do this and obviously it was stressful for her. She was not comfortable in what she was wearing.

    As she walked to sit in one of the seats at the extreme of the hall, every eye was on her. The male students at the event were all disappointed because the young lady did not cause to happen, the entertainment they had expected.

    Then my question: why are girls putting discomforting clothes when there is nothing to gain in them? From experience, the reason may have been to gain “attention” and “attraction”. Once they dress shabbily and revealed their sensitive organs, men start to fall over themselves to “watch film”. When skimpily dressed ladies notice glances from men, they try to cover their body. But who forced them to dress provocatively?

    A few days ago, I was discussing about fashion trend with a female student in my department, the girl told me that ladies ought to dress for their own comfort. But the kind of dresses female students put on nowadays shows the opposite. I believe that majority of girls wear skimpy dresses just to feel among. They feel like ‘this is in vogue’ and ‘I must not be counted out’.

    There are times when girls put on a low-waist clothes and struggle to cover their back waist as they walk or when they want to ride on motorcycle or in the class. Some wear miniskirts and try to pull it to cover their thigh as they walk. Others wear transparent clothes that reveal their sex organs. To me, such dresses are needless in academic environment.

    In the rainy season, instead of wearing long sleeves or sweat shirts, some ladies will put on sleeveless clothes trying to imitate what they saw on television. Recently, I observed a girl at the Faculty of Education, who likes to wears high-heel shoes to school. After sometime, she brought out a pair of slippers from her handbag. When I asked why she wanted to change the high-heel shoes, she said: “I like wearing high heels because it brings up my hips and makes me more attractive to guys. But shoes always hurt my toe; that is why I changed to flat sandals.”

    I don’t have problem with new trend in fashion but I consider indecent dressing as inappropriate because it often leads to rape and sexual harassment. If a girl dresses indecently and calls it fashion, it means she is tempting men to look at her direction, the end result of which may not be palatable for her.

    Stanley, 500-Level Accounting, UNICAL

     

  • Clutches to go with evening dresses

    Just as it is very important to look elegant in an evening dress, it is also essential to complement it with a purse to make you look more beautiful, 

    It is every woman’s dream to make a lasting impression, especially towards their beauty treats. Quite often, picking the right evening bag comes with much experience and knowledge of how to combine one’s outfit.

    It is essential for a woman to carry a purse that has the capacity to secure her essentials when going to formal events such as balls, dinner parties and cocktails. It is advisable for women to use clutches for formal events to complement their evening dresses.

    Clutches are used to hold a few necessities, such as driver’s licence, cell phone, credit cards and pen. They come in various shapes and styles, depending on the brand. They come as little square boxes, triangle, or heart shapes covered with satin beads or brocade.

    Clutches are quite affordable. You could get the ankara clutch bag at N6,000. The convertible clutch begins at N4,000, depending on the size and shape. The one sized clutch bag costs N2,500. A clutch bag makes a woman look elegant and beautiful. They fit perfectly with evening gowns and will never go out of style.

    Clutches can be bought at Ms Shonzz located at 2, Jacob Sonia Street, off Ajayi Road, Oke-Ira, Ogba Lagos. It can also be gotten at Morakz Boutique located at shop 4, Ditto plaza 33/35 Itire road (Oke-Iwu), Surulere, Lagos. They can also be found in the various markets and boutiques around you as well as the ultra modern shopping malls.

    There are different types of clutches: the convertible clutch is very common and can be converted from clutch to shoulder bag. There is also the hard case clutch, which gives sleek-like appearance; they are great and match with a formal or semi-formal attire. The silver clutch bag is also elegant and classic.