Outrage as China university tells women not to wear revealing clothes

This article is more than 12 months old

Sep 03, 2020 06:00 am

BEIJING A Chinese university sparked widespread outrage at the start of the academic year this week as female students discovered they were not supposed to wear anything deemed overly revealing on grounds it could arouse "temptation".

On Aug 1, Guangxi University in southwestern China published a 50-point safety guide for incoming first-year female students, including a dress code that suggested women were responsible for sexual harassment or even assault.

"Don't wear overly revealing tops or skirts. Don't wear low-cut dresses or expose your waist or back, to avoid creating temptation," the guide said.

The university also advised girls to avoid high heels in some circumstances.

"It's going in the wrong direction. Shouldn't a school educate male students to respect women, no matter what she wears or if she is alone? Instead of asking the victims to review themselves," wrote one Internet user.

The hashtag "Guangxi University female students' security guide" has garnered 200 million views on Weibo.