 |
© Athit
Perawongmetha / Reuters
|
The government of Burkina
Faso has banned an annual beauty contest for women with the biggest buttocks,
saying such events are sexist.
Reuters
report continues: |
The banned
miss 'Bim Bim' poster, for anyone interested. Image source: TimCocks on Twitter
|
Adverts
for this weekend's third edition of 'Miss Bim-Bim', carrying an image of two
fully clothed women with exaggeratedly large behinds, provoked an outcry on
social media.
"Our
role is to do everything to avoid damaging the image of women," said
Minister Laure Zongo in a statement, adding that social media criticism had
persuaded her to act.
The
male organizer of the event, Hamado Doambahe, said it aimed to promote a more
positive body image for African women and encourage fashion designers to use
African costumes.
Contests
like Miss Bim-Bim have been held in other West African countries.
Women's
rights groups have mixed views about the tendency in many African cultures to
celebrate women with larger bodies than are typically admired elsewhere.
While
they welcome the shift away from the unnaturally thin female shapes promoted by
the global fashion industry, they deplore the emphasis on men judging women's
body shapes.
The head of Burkina Faso's High Council for Communications, Nathalie Some, called in a statement for people in advertising, the media and the arts to protect the rights of women and girls.
No comments:
Post a Comment