BBC NEWS | Africa | Guinea's dirty dancing backlash Quote:
Men in Guinea's capital have begun attacking women who they accuse of doing the popular buttock-swinging Wolosso dance from Ivory Coast.
Teenagers wearing skirts or hipsters, associated with Wolosso, which partly expose their buttocks and midriff have been stripped naked and beaten up.
The attacks follow a performance by an Ivorian Wolosso group last week.
The provocative dance is considered by many in the mainly Muslim West African country to be pornographic.
Craze
The police have confirmed a few cases of alleged rape committed by the rampaging youths and more than 30 men have been detained in connection with the violence.
Some girls refuse to go to the Bambeto and Cosa suburbs of the capital, Conakry, for fear of being a target.
Others have resorted to donning the long traditional wraps to avoid incurring their wrath.
The craze for Wolosso music and the dress style adopted by fashionable teenagers and women in the capital has become a hot topic of debate.
"Young Guinean girls and African women in general should not dress themselves like European girls," one man told the BBC.
One woman decried "this Wolosso business".
"In a Muslim country like ours, we should not be watching and imitating these music videos. I advise all girls and women to dress themselves in proper clothes."
A younger woman said that wearing revealing outfits at night was not advisable.
"But during the day I don't see what the problem should be. Everyone has the right to wear what makes them happy. I'm a young girl - should I be forced to dress in a certain way?"
Ivorians I have spoken to in Conakry deny that the lyrics themselves are pornographic.
They claim the music is used as a backing for pirate videos with lewd dances.
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Come cultures, I tellz ya....
Look out... here comes the Fasion Police.... literally...
May 1, 2007, 12:30 pm
