Angela asserts "To take away a woman’s right not to wear a short skirt at work on the basis that she wears them socially is to suggest, as the cleric does, that a woman’s autonomy can be compromised by what she chooses to wear"

The idea of autonomy is quaint but dangerous.

What we do and say has bearing not just for ourselves but others as well.

Woman can dress in ways that are sexually provocative to men. We always remain our brother's keeper, our sister's keeper.

Women can and do send wrong signals to men.

The Muslim cleric was right to draw attention to, in effect, the need for women to dress modestly. He was badly wrong to allow this observation to justify the rape of women by men who saw such provocative dressing as a "come on".

I saw an impromptu media interview with the muslim cleric in question. He was trying to clarify the intent of his previous comments, to indicate that he had not meant that women are inviting rape, or to blame for it.

Yet he still managed to convey that sense. I had the impression that he was being let down by his command of English.

Does provocative clothing cause rape? No. Is it a factor? Yes. Should it be? No. Would women be less likely to be raped if they didn't wear provocative clothing? Probably. Are they to blame therefore if it happens? No.

On such a subject, it's very easy to get into all sorts of strife if you make unconsidered comments. It's all the worse if you're not fully conversent with the language you're using.

Sylvia Else

I have never seen a workplace where women are required to wear mini-skirts as a part of their workplace uniform, and the workplace in question in this article must be extremely rare. But I have seen many women wearing revealing and suggestive clothing outside of work, and obviously they are not trying to attract male attention.

Timkins haven't you ever seen job vacancy adverts for "skimpy", see-thru" or "topless" barpersons?

Good point Sylvie, even when conversant with the English language we can still be stumbling and haplessly misunderstood. And it is true that some jobs (mainly in the loosely described hospitality industry) put the subliminal message across about how one dresses and treats the customers. Anything to get them to buy another beer. It's only when one gets older that one sees the outrageous exploitation in a moral setting. (ie young women should NOT be judged about what they wear) In my forties, I will not wear mini skirts again, but at the time that i was wearing them it wasn't to be sexually provocative (come here) but more celebrating the fact that I had (and still do!) a great set of pegs. I never expected to meet Mr Right that way. (and surprisingly never did) It's just notice. I deplore the day that women are told to dress a certain way because men find it provocative. Otherwise we'll be in sheaths and the exposure of an ankle would be called provocative.

Silent Minority,
Actually I have never been to a topless bar. Should I go?

I have never been to a bar where the waiters wear skimpy shorts either. Should I go?

But I have seen many women wearing low cut blouses, mid riff tops, short skirts etc in many places, (and often in the middle of winter), and I think that most men are eventually attracted to women who dress more modestly, as Di found out.

The question is why women like Di are not out there telling young girls about this, because women’s magazines are filled with advertisements of skimpy clothes, and it is women, not men who buy them.