Kampala, Uganda
A new ban imposed on “indecent” clothes in a church-founded university in Uganda has sparked a hot debate about clothing freedoms.
Anglican-founded Bishop Stuart University in Western Uganda imposed the ban on 1st December.
Students at Uganda Christian University which first imposed a dress code in 2007. PICTURE: Samuel Tatambuka
Rev Francis Muhangi, dean of students at Bishop Stuart University, declared a ban on male students on campus wearing sandals, damaged jeans and trousers, shorts, braided and tinted hairstyles, earrings and tattoos. The ban also affects female students who are now not allowed on university premises if dressed in mini-skirts and dresses, tattoos and damaged trousers.
“This is to bring to your notice that effective December 2, no one will be allowed to access the University premises, lecture rooms and offices and the chapel with the banned dress code,” Muhangi wrote in a 1st December statement posted on social media platforms.
Muhangi said the ban on certain attire is in addition to any wear that is unacceptable as addressed in the university’s student regulations and guidelines. But in the statement, he did not explain why the ban was imposed at this particular time.
The ban does, however, come after many university lecturers in Uganda complained about “indecently dressed” female students.
In a separate interview, Rev Charles Mukundane, the university’s public relations officer, told Sight the ban was put in place so the university could send graduates with Christian values out to the job market.
“We are a Christian University and we want students who graduate from our university to exhibit the Christian values,” Mukundane said. He added that “Christians are supposed to be gentle and smart that they should not go out naked.”
Bishop Stuart University followed in the footsteps of Uganda Christian University which imposed a similar ban in 2007 and has been updating it regularly to match fashion trends. In 2016, the university not only amended the dress code but also designated the Directorate of Student Affairs to oversee students’ observation of the university’s dress code.
Dr John Senyonyi, a former vice-chancellor at UCU who spearheaded the amendment, said the dress code is a “fitting Christian testimony” and a fulfillment of the university’s desire to offer “a complete education for a complete person”.
“When UCU students graduate, their dress fashion, like everything else, should distinguish them to be ladies and gentlemen,” Dr Senyonyi said.
Rev Dr John Kitayimbwa, the university’s current deputy vice-chancellor for academic affairs, also said in an interview recently that thanks to the strict dress code and holistic education, employers are now scrambling for its graduates.
UCU was founded by the Province of the Anglican Church of Uganda in 1997 to equip students for productive, holistic lives of Christian faith and service.
The introduction of dress codes at the two universities has sparked a serious debate within the institutions and outside with many in support and others against.
Associate Professor Mesharch W Katusiimeh, of Kabale University, told Sight that a strict dress code is a distinctive factor for universities, and it attracts parents, who value their children’s dress code, to educate them at such institutions.
Joshua Yatulwanira, a former student leader at UCU, said he did not mind the university having a strict dress code as long as it is fairly enforced and included staff members who he said also sometimes dress indecently.
But Toni Amukunzire a third-year journalism student at UCU, said the dress code did not consider very small students like her, saying that she can’t wear the jeans which fit her best as they are judged as too tight.
Doreen Gandhi, a UCU student who supports the ban noted that human bodies are “temples of the Holy Spirit”. She urged the university’s management to introduce an annual award for the most decently dressed student on campus in order to inspire others.
John Semakula lectures in journalism at Uganda Christian University.
