Reports: "Rape-provoking" clothing banned in Swaziland

King Mswati III of Swaziland and one of his wives, Inkhosikati LaMbikiza, at the World Energy Forum 2012 in Dubai on October 22, 2012. / Getty Images

Women wanting to wear skimpy outfits now face arrest in the impoverished, tiny kingdom of Swaziland in southern Africa, according to multiple reports.

Police there have placed a ban on mini-skirts and low-rise jeans, reports Agence France Presse. Authorities say the outfits provoke rape.

"The act of the rapist is made easy, because it would be easy to remove the half-cloth worn by the women," police spokeswoman Wendy Hleta was quoted as saying. She added that women dressing provocatively "will be arrested."

The law that allows the arrests actually comes from a colonial-era, 1889 law which bans "immoral" dressing if they receive a complaint, BBC reports.

Anyone arrested and guilty of "immorality" under the Crimes Act of 1889 could receive a fine of up to $10 or a jail-term of up to six months if they failed to pay the fine, the BBC quotes Hleta as saying.

There is a loophole for the law, however, at least for the controversial king of the kingdom, which is almost entirely surrounded by South Africa.

During an annual ceremony where King Mswati III chooses a new wife (he already has 13), young, bare-breasted virgins dance in traditional skirts that only cover the front of their lower-halves.

The law may be in response to a march that was stopped by police last month in which women and young girls tried to demand police do something to protect them from a spate of sexual assaults in Swaziland, Al Jazeera reports.

[WillowSunstar]

Wow. Whatever happened to learning self-control?

[takacrat]

In Africa, self-control doesn't matter!

[mikeinme]

ah, its the clothes that provoke the rapes! I always thought it was the way their society treats women like property. silly me.

[Unskinator]

This ban makes no sense. The traditional swazi outfit for girls is practically topless and much more revealing than any miniskirt. LOL

[MaryInBoise]

Well, then, is is any surprise to you that this is a remnant of Victorian colonialism?

[AttyFAM]

So they arrest the women in advance so they don't have to arrest the men later.

[Sax1031]

I see they are blaming inanimate objects for crimes Swaziland also.