Councillor left out on a limb over no-shorts law in Solomon Islands

By MARY-LOUISE O'CALLAGHAN Herald Correspondent

A proposal to ban women from wearing shorts in the streets of the Solomon Islands capital, Honiara, has left more than a few shins bruised.

Chief casualty has been the architect of the proposed legislation, Honiara city councillor John Seti Iromea, who a fortnight ago launched what one of the many commentators on the subject described as a hot curry of an issue.

Blaming short-wearing women for a range of social ills, from marriage breakdowns to rape, Iromea pledged to push the legislation through the council as part of his new responsibilities in the Youth and Women's Affairs portfolio.

This all came as something of shock to the majority of females in the 40,000-strong town, where baggy beach shorts are practically a uniform for women under 50.

The outcry was immediate.

Letters to the editor, as well as the opinion-editorial pages of the only daily newspaper, the Solomon Star, have been filled with lengthy, passionate commentary both for and against the shorts legislation.

Intricate biblical arguments have been launched, both the no-shorts and the for-shorts camps citing texts to support their case.

More succinct was William Manengelea, who, signing himself a "concerned man", refuted the councillor's call for a "return to custom", saying: "Has Mr Iromea forgotten that before the missionaries, we were not even wearing clothes?"

One local school, Chung Wah, had its own day of protest when hundreds of primary school children - boys and girls - swapped their uniforms for shorts in support of what their principal, Ann Thomas, described as the fundamental issue at stake: freedom of choice.

Many critics were particularly incensed that despite his "youth" portfolio, the career councillor, "instead of staring at women's legs", had not come up with any plans for tackling one of the town's more obvious problems - the hundreds of unemployed young men who police say are among the highest offenders when it comes to petty crime.

With pressure building on the council itself, Honiara Mayor David Dausabea finally stepped in.

But even after being threatened with the sack, Iromea remained defiant until late last week, when he finally issued a public apology pledging to withdraw his no-shorts proposal from the council's books.

While most of Honiara is still tittering, it would seem those discreet flashes of feminine flesh, bruised shins and knobbly knees will be on view for a little while yet.