The Constitutional Court repealed the anti-pornography law that had been in force since 2014, some articles of which, such as the ban on wearing miniskirts, were denounced by civil society organizations.
According to the ruling published Monday, the law is declared “incompatible or contrary to the Constitution”. “The sections … of the anti-pornography law are declared null and void,” Justice Frederick Egonda-Ntende says in his ruling, which also removes the powers of a nine-member Committee charged with enforcing the law.
The February 2014 law labeled as pornographic, and penalized, behaviors and activities such as wearing short skirts or song lyrics deemed too risky. Women’s rights groups have campaigned in recent years for the repeal of this text, dubbed the “anti-miniskirt law,” denouncing the harassment conducted against women wearing outfits considered indecent.
A strong supporter of the law, the Minister of Ethics and Integrity, Simon Lokodo, had copies of a British novel seized from a prestigious private school in 2016 that he said exposed students to sex too early.