The Vehicle Inspectorate Department (VID) has immediately banned visitors from wearing revealing clothes such as shorts, sleeveless tops, and miniskirts at their depots.
According to the Chronicle, VID said it is enforcing an existing Government policy on dress codes, particularly in public offices.
Notices announcing the new dress code policy have been posted across all VID depots nationwide, including two prominently displayed at the entrance in Bulawayo. Reads the notice:
All sleeveless dresses, sleeveless tops, shorts, miniskirts or revealing clothes are not allowed on Government premises.
Speaking to the Chronicle, a VID official, who requested anonymity, explained that the move was prompted by concerns from male examiners and inspectors.
They reported feeling sexually harassed by some clients who come for road tests dressed in revealing clothing. Said the official:
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You won’t believe it but at one time we had a learner driver who was scantily dressed and the situation was made worse when there was a strong wind which lifted her dress up, revealing everything.
Some come in miniskirts and in the process of changing gears, that skirt becomes even shorter as it goes upwards and for a male inspector, that situation becomes unbearable.
Contacted for comment, VID national deputy director Eustina Nyathi confirmed the enforcement of the dress code, adding that they did not create new laws but simply enforced an existing policy. She said:
The dress code issue is not a new thing. If you get to the courts there is a certain fashion that you have to wear and if you are not in sync with that, you will not be allowed in. It’s as simple as that.
She said the department had received numerous complaints from both its staff and members of the public taking examinations at the depots, prompting the implementation of the dress code policy.
However, Bulawayo City’s Ward 17 councillor, Sikhululekile Moyo, argued that the policy was discriminatory and should be reversed.
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