Yesterday, while speaking before a rally of supporters in Mberengwa, Zimbabwe, First Lady Grace Mugabe reportedly blamed women who wear miniskirts for inviting rape.
“If you walk around wearing miniskirts displaying your thighs and inviting men to drool over you, then you want to complain when you have been raped?" Mugabe told the crowd, The Telegraph reports. “That is unfortunate because it will be your fault.”
That view contradicts the harsh penalties her husband has vowed to exact against rapists. Mrs. Mugabe is tipped to replace her 91-year-old husband as president upon his death, and is seen by many to be a negative influence on the country. She is notorious for spending fortunes on Ferragamo shoes, even as the economy plummets and citizens starve. She has also been under fire this month for saying she skips meals in solidarity with Zimbabweans suffering from hunger. Many have deemed that comment highly insensitive.
Not surprisingly, the comments, made in the Shona language, caused many African women to complain.
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When women blame other women for being raped a piece of me dies inside and then there's Grace Mugabe.
— Womyn Power (@MissMadiba) November 21, 2015
Rape is a form of violence used to ensure power.
Rapists are solely to blame and are responsible for rape. Not rape survivors. #GraceMugabe
— Sam Qaqamba Beynon (@Qaqi_Beynon) November 22, 2015
Waited all weekend for all those agencies that represent women in Zimbabwe to show outrage at Grace Mugabe's rape remarks. So far none.
— i-am Madambeef (@MariaZest1) November 22, 2015
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