Cameroon: Police harasses girl in public for dressing indecently

By Amina Hilda

A young girl was ordered by the police to return to her house after she appeared in public in Ambam, South Region of Cameroon, dressed ‘indecently.’

In a viral video obtained by the MMI Team, the girl could be seen dressed in a blue cropped top and a mini-skirt.

Amid a huge crowd, the young lady was accompanied by two female police officers who put her on a commercial motorbike and told her to return home.

“She said she is from Gabon and that she is here as a sex worker,” a local kept screaming in the said video. MMI cannot confirm these claims.

While some believe that the move by the police officers was to promote decency in public – critics have questioned whether harassing the lady in public was a valuable use of police time and resources, considering the high level of crime in Cameroon.

“I don’t see any indecency in her outfit, this was really uncalled for,” said a lady after watching the video.

Authorities in Cameroon some years back had issued an order, warning against public indecency. The order was expected to be respected in major cities like Buea, Douala, Yaounde, Bamenda, and Limbe.

It is still to be seen what impact the move has created.