This archive report was first published on 4 October 2019.
On a mission to uncover Kenya's forgotten fashion history, poet-playwright Sitawa Namwale has been crowdsourcing photographs and stories of Kenyan women's attire from the past.
Her project, 'Our Grandmother's Miniskirt: A People's History Told Through Photographs and Stories,' was inspired by a 2016 experience in Rwanda, where she witnessed men stripping women in matatus, claiming their style of dress was 'inappropriate.'
As Sitawa notes, 'It was such a shame that Rwandese men and women were shocked. They asked me, 'What's wrong with your Kenyan men? Why aren't they protecting their women?'
She began thinking about the integrity of women's bodies and how, in earlier times, women had worn attire that hadn't even covered their kneecaps. But they hadn't been punished for it. It had been considered fashionable at the time.
Through her crowdsourcing efforts, Sitawa has received almost 100 photographs of grandmothers and moms, with many more expected. She aims to collect at least 300 women's photos and slightly fewer stories, which she plans to publish in a book.
Her project has also sparked interest among Zimbabweans, who have invited her to take part in their 'Women, Wine and Words Festival' in Harare later this month.
One of the most striking images exhibited at the Macondo Literary Festival was a 1945 photo of Tharaka woman Gatoro Ndugi M'Chabari, who was decked out in a colourful beaded necklace, an intricately beaded vest, and mini-shorts that barely reached the top of her thighs.
As Sitawa notes, 'The high point of the show for me was when a young man came up and said she was his great aunt who is still alive at age 95.'
