South African Students in Naked Street Protest – Angry African Women and the Naked Protest

Strip Show – South African Students Protest – Angry African Women, Behind the Naked Protest

South African Students at Wits University Protest Against High Fees – #FeesMustFall Campaign October 2017

When you see a topless Caribbean woman in the streets, she is probably celebrating and taking part in a Carnival Feast or Festival. When you see a topless African woman in the streets, well, she is not celebrating but protesting.

Student Protests Wits University, South Africa

On 2 November 2017, a group of about 200 students at the University of Cape Town in South Africa organized a campus protest against high tuition fees, in what was named the #FeesMustFall protest on Twitter. This is not the first time that students in South Africa have demonstrated against high tuition fees. It’s been happening for the past few years, but one thing that has become a norm and trend for these protests are female students who strip down, removing their tops, and baring their breasts for everyone to see. In some cases, the young women go completely naked, exposing their pussy to anyone who is brave to watch. They even respond to questions by journalists, speaking emotionally in front of the camera without a care.

Students Protest Naked Over High Tuition Fees

Exorbitant fees is the main grievance at most universities across South Africa, but these young women have also been known to stage protests against other issues affecting them, for example the culture of rape that is prevalent at most campuses in South Africa.

Wits Fees Must Fall

When compared to the western culture where semi-nakedness is the norm on TV shows, movies, at beaches, festivals, clubs and other entertainment venues, the African culture is considered relatively conservative because skimpy dressing is frowned upon by most people in the society, except if it’s a cultural thing like the Swazi reed dance or when somebody is dressed in traditional attire where breasts and thighs are exposed. In the modern African society, women in non-traditional attire are expected to be “dressed up” to maintain their “dignity”. Modern fashion items like thigh-high mini dresses, boob spilling cleavage tops, transparent dress and body shaping clothes are frowned upon, even though you are free to wear them in public. Unlike traditional African attire, most of the time, skimpy modern attire has a sexual connotation attached to it, and this is the case in western countries, where a woman is called sexy if she wears such clothing.

Ugandan Women Protesting

So what is the point? You might be asking, and how does this connect with topless university students protesting on campus? Breaking taboos is what a frustrated African woman resorts to when they are very angry, and looking to make a point. It’s a way for them to be heard by the authorities and the community, so an African woman will do the unthinkable – doing things that will be criticized by our African culture, that is going topless, undressing and wearing skimpy mini dresses LOL. The aim is to embarrass the perceived authorities. When you see an African woman undressing in public, it means they are very angry. The authorities have failed to take care of them. It means the men in our society have failed to be responsible, they have failed to be gentlemen.