Of bogus preachers and using dressing, nudity as fishing baits

THERE is growing trend of preachers who arm themselves with bibles and preach the word of God along the streets or busy areas such as bus stands and markets. As if this is a competition, I have seen some people from other religions walking the streets with loud speakers preaching their messages.

I can't really comment when it comes to other religions, but to those who follow the Bible, Christians were commissioned to preach the word through out the world, “Go ye therefore and preach... baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”, goes one verse in the Bible.

Don't worry dear reader, I am not preaching but just highlighting the realities of life. I often come across such preachers in areas such as Posta where they know that many people use the place to get buses to their different destinations. I know so many things have been said about these people, but I am not here to judge them, whether they are genuine or fake that is their business.

I remember coming across such a preacher at Ubungo Bus Terminal last weekend. But, to my surprise, this one was different to the others. He left me wondering as to whether he was a preacher or a social commentator. He didn't have a Bible though he referred to it and to me he was more like a tout than a preacher.

“Mwanamke usivae nguo zinazoonyesha maziwa, ni dhambi,” he could be heard shouting. Many people who heard him laughed and he seemed to enjoy it. He also changed his statement a bit and admonished women over putting on trousers and miniskirts.

In a bid to drive the last nail into the coffin and make sure that his message sinks into people's heads, he composed a song where he included his messages, unfortunately I can't sing it to you on this paper dear reader, but believe you me, if you listen to this guy singing, then you will green with envy. For sure it's talent wasted, if he could utilize his talent, I think he will be a threat even to the likes of Banana Zoro, Diamond and Marlow just but to mention a few.

This guy was so good that travellers waiting for buses at the terminal got free entertainment and temporarily forgot about the long journeys awaiting them. For a moment, I think they forgot the uncertainty they were facing as travelling on our roads, especially long distances brings with it doubt due to road accidents.

People are perishing on our roads. Many people think twice before embarking onto the long journeys but because they have no option then they are forced to use these flying coffins. I just hope that one day we will find reason and become responsible citizens who drive to arrive alive. Enough about road accidents, and back to our story, I hope no one missed his or her bus because of this guy.

I am not here to criticize this self proclaimed preacher but the subject he was dealing with was interesting, given the manner in which our women dress on our streets. And, as if it was a coincidence, on my way home from the terminal, I got a daladala home but after travelling barely 500 metres from where I had boarded it, the driver of the bus applied emergency brakes at the same time honking.

Everyone got curious as to why that had happened, only to discover that a scantily dressed young lady who had been crossing the road lackadaisically, had to jump for dear life as she almost got herself killed. The bus missed her by some inches and were it not for the timely reaction by the driver, who managed to apply brakes on time and save this poor soul, we could have been talking of something else right now.

I don't even want to talk about the insults that came out of passengers' mouths. Even a beautiful lady seated next to me, I earlier on had thought to be a saint, shocked me when she shouted obscenities. This quickly reminded me that those people who coined the saying that, “don't judge a book by its cover'' were right. The moment of madness where people unite in, temporarily losing their senses, to shout obscenities has no status, even the most elegant are not spared.

To cut the story short, some people in the daladala shouted at the lady that she should go and get dressed as she was almost naked. This triggered a heated debate in the commuter bus as some people condemned dressing trends by some women which they described as too scanty for comfort.

The men cast the blame on women and especially mothers for failing to discipline their children in as far as dressing is concerned. But, women on the other side did not watch while they were attacked, they responded by blaming cultural invasion. To make sure that they cleared themselves from blame, one woman asked the men to answer what they could do if the children come out of their homes wrapping khangas or long dresses, while putting on mini skirts and tight trousers in side only to remove the decent clothing when they are far from home. In most cases, these children get away with it as the chances to meet their parents or relatives are slim.

Even me, who was a silent observer in this matter found sense in what the woman was saying. She actually gave an example of a family who had such a daughter. The parents tried every trick in the book to deter the girl from doing that but it didn't work. Even multiple beatings by the father could not force her to abandon her type of clothing. They ended up surrendering and accepting her as she was. In fact, they rested their case and said it was God's will.

Now the girl, given the freedom, is now the talk of the area as she walks along the streets almost naked. I really don't know what and where our world is leading to but judging the trends and what I come across in this city, then we are headed for a disaster.

And, by the rate at which women's clothes are getting skimpier by day, then it won't be surprising if one day we come across people walking stark naked on our streets. Some people have argued that our ancestors used to use animal skins only to cover the essentials and the issue of miniskirts and other weird dresses should not be an issue as this is not new.

I don't know whether you agree with that view or not dear reader, but, what I know is that culture is dynamic and it is time as Africans that we try to preserve the Africanness (sic) we have. It is the time we preserve our norms and values.

There is nothing wrong in having our women chasing after fashion, but, they can do it without exposing their bodies. There is no justification what so ever, not even fashion trends, should force our ladies to throw away reason and put on something that leaves nothing to the imagination.

To my dear sisters, mothers and grandmothers out there, nudity is not beauty. You don't need to be nude for you to be considered beautiful and attractive. If one becomes attractive because she has exposed some parts of her body, then know for sure that you are attracting men for wrong reasons. And, if marriage will be that person's reason for doing that, then the reality is that you will actually be doing the opposite.

When nudity is used as a fishing bait, because it lures men into action, then in most cases the fishing rod will catch crabs. Only the bad elements will be attracted and the results won't be good.

To sum it up jamani, our dressing trends are shocking and they are getting worse by day. Even some parents have given up. It is important for us to know that what you put on speaks volumes about you and other people will always judge you, treat you, respect you basing on what you will be putting on. May God help us.

bongoblast@thisday.co.tz/symeniah.blogspot.com/0657651300