14 DAY TRIAL // In today's democratic society, to tell an adult and independent woman what to wear or how to behave seems almost inconceivable, but the harsh reality is that in many parts of the world there are laws that actually tell women what they can wear and what they cannot.
While the men who enacted the laws claimed they were meant to protect women, the pieces of legislation clearly restrict their basic rights.
In Russia, for instance, President Dmitrii Medvedev passed a law in September 2011 that was long criticized by local media and the country's citizens. It mostly targeted women and stated that they were not allowed to wear miniskirts shorter than 40 cm (16 inches), excessive makeup, and décolleté. A specific article of the law even stated that women were not allowed to leave their homes without wearing lingerie.
And in 2013, amid international outcry over Russia’s anti-gay laws, the Duma announced that it might be introducing new repressive legislation: a “moral dress code” for schoolteachers, which would completely ban miniskirts and other types of revealing clothing considered inappropriate.
But the most recent infringement on women’s rights happened in February, when officials in Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan decided to stop any underwear containing less than 6 percent cotton from being imported, made or sold in their countries, basically spelling the end to lace panties, as reported by So Feminine.
After the news broke, many women's rights campaigners branded the action as discriminatory and women staged a Panty Protest on February 16, flocking to the streets with lace underwear around their heads and yelling “Freedom to the panties!”
In Uganda, which is a socially conservative country, President Yoweri Museveni also signed a bill that banned “indecent” dressing. Dubbed “the miniskirt law” by Uganda's media, the legislation doesn't actually mention the word “miniskirt,” but bans women from revealing their thighs, breasts, and behinds and from dressing indecently.
Believe it or not, until February 2013, French women were not allowed to wear pants in Paris, as this “insane” gesture was officially illegal in the city. In 1799, the police chief of Paris decreed that any women wishing to wear trousers had to seek special permission from the police.
And although almost nobody knew or obeyed this specific law, it was always too much hassle to revoke it. Finally a woman was the one who had the law removed from the books.
Meanwhile, a controversial law in Saudi Arabia bans women from driving, because in order to drive, they must uncover their face. Though the bill is still intact and enforced today, many female drivers defy the ban and get behind the wheel.