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Grace Mugabe, the wife of Zimbabwe’s president and a possible predecessor to her husband, has publicly shamed Zimbabwean women for wearing revealing clothing. Her “slut-shaming” is a severe violation of the rights of women to safety and protection by the state, and doesn’t bode well for women in the Republic of Zimbabwe.

BuzzSouthAfrica reports Mugabe as saying “If you walk around wearing mini skirts displaying your thighs and inviting men to drool over you, then you want to complain when you have been raped? It’s unfortunate because it will be your fault.”

But while Grace Mugabe’s husband is president of Zimbabwe, her opinions regarding women are not likely to be implemented into policy. This is not the case in nearby Tanzania.

Tanzanian president John Magufuli announced an initiative to ban the wearing of mini-skirts and all such short garments, giving women a three week ultimatum to discontinue wearing the clothes.

“It’s not enough to just indicate a strong disapproval of ladies who roam the public with mini-skirts, I ought to ban mini-skirts, and not just mini-skirts—I’m banning mini-skirts and every other garment that is short and of course, too sexy. My citizens, the female folks must from henceforth, dress in such a manner that will make them less sexually interesting or exciting. They must learn to dress in a way that [they] are not radiating sexuality,” the president is quoted as saying.

Magufuli is said to consider mini-skirts a major catalyst for the spread of HIV/AIDs.

HIV/AIDs is a major problem in the United Republic of Tanzania; according to 2014 UN estimates there were an average of 1.5 million people living with HIV, the precursor to AIDs, and approximately 46,000 Tanzanians died as a result of AIDs.

But of course the answer is not banning mini-skirts. It is first of all a highly problematic policy because it implies that women are the cause for the spread of HIV/AIDs, while in fact men are the primary cause. Such a move is also highly restrictive and sexist, and encourages a pattern of discrimination against women.

The same UN report found such widespread discrimination against women in Tanzania to be, in fact, a major obstacle to combatting the spread of HIV/AIDs. “Punitive laws, stigma and discrimination are serious barriers throughout the continent for all key populations, with gender inequality contributing to the challenges faced by female sex workers,” the report states.

Magufuli’s decision is not the first time the country has banned unusual things. Last year Tanzanian Director of Cultural Development, Professor Herman Mwansoko outlawed the “Twerking” dance in public, saying females dancing in “a sexually inducing manner” are prohibited.

The dance “threatens our original dances, which are our identity, the new generation will be filled with what they see now and may not be aware that there has been a real heritage,” Mwansoko’s statement reads.

These measures, while well intentioned, are harmful to the safety of women in Tanzania and will certainly not achieve the desired effect. As the Sowetan Live points out, “Women in other countries wear bikinis and miniskirts yet these countries have low prevalence of HIV.”

The answer to the spreading of HIV/AIDs and the loss of cultural heritage are not outlawing behaviors, but instead are the promotion of awareness.

If it truly wishes to make the country better according to its own guidelines, the government should undertake a massive health campaign to further educate its population about the spread of HIV/AIDs. It should also do better to promote its own heritage by funding cultural and arts programs.