Yemeni Youth Argue over Dress Code for Women

The following excerpt is from a TV report on a street discussion on the acceptable dress code for young Yemeni women. It aired on Yemen TV on March 2, 2010.
 

Reporter: A heated discussion between guys and girls caught our attention, and we couldn't avoid joining in.
 

Young man: Let me ask you a question. If a girl really doesn't want people to make a move on her, why does she leave her home all dolled up and perfumed, and walk around this way? Even animals would look at her.
 

Young woman: Sometimes girls dress like that, wearing makeup and perfume, and they say: "I am free to do what I want. I'm not doing it so people will look at me." This is personal liberty. You can't force her to wear a traditional gown, and to cover her eyes like that. Some girls wear traditional gowns that reach down to there, you can't see their eyes, and they wear gloves, but they are the worst girls around. They paint the town red and know every inch of Yemen. It's not about [what you wear].
 

Young man: You talked about personal liberty, but we are not living in the capitalist West, in which personal liberty takes precedence over the freedom of society. In Islam – especially in Yemen – the freedom of society coincides with personal liberties. You say that a girl is free to go out wearing what she likes, draw the attention of the entire street, distracting drivers, and whoever goes into a restaurant... A woman is free inside her home. No, inside her room.