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Evidence Moyo

Daisy Jeremani Gender Editor
DESPITE health concerns over the practice of buying second-hand underwear from flea markets, more women, even the well-heeled, continue to raid “Khothama Boutique” for cheaper, “sexy,” imported reused underwear.

Last week, MDC MP Priscilla Misihairabwi Mushonga caused a furore in parliament after she brought secondhand undergarments into the House and asked what was being done to stop their importation. She asked Finance Minister Cde Patrick Chinamasa what the government policy was on the importation of secondhand underwear given that they had health ramifications.

In an interview, a woman who did not want to be named, but sells her heap of hand-me-down panties on the right side of a church situated at Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Street and 6th Street in Bulawayo, said she was making brisk business even from the well-to-do.

The woman said she was not worried about how people would clean the panties after buying them, as everyone who puts on used panties knows the possible consequences.

She said that even those who know better were finding their way to her stall.

“I even have nurses and doctors coming to buy from me. They just pull over and ask ‘do you have Victoria’s (Secret)?” she said.

“When they say what colours do you have today? I tell them not to worry because I know their favourite colours. They pay well too. Even those ladies from (name supplied) are my regulars”.

Women in Zimbabwe refer to lingerie made by Victoria’s Secret by the name of the manufacturer.

A woman who was seated at the trader’s vending stall, but refused to be identified, said she was buying for her grandmothers back in her home village.

“These are cheap. How much is a Jockey panty in a shop? The price is too steep for me and these are just R1 each. When I get home I will distribute to each one of them and believe me they’re going to be super happy,” she said.

A pack of three Jockey panties for women costs $20, $15 for girls, while men’s boxers cost the same for a pack of two, at a popular departmental store.

Evidence Moyo, who was manning his mother’s stall on the day, said although his mother has never bought used panties and brassieres for resale, he has seen women buying them at the market.

“The bras from my neighbour are $1 for two and I see women coming enmasse to buy. They sit down and take their time to choose what they want. Judging from the enthusiasm, it looks like they’re happy with the goods,” he said.

Local dermatologists have warned that failure to wash, disinfect and iron these undergarments properly poses health risks such as getting infections that the previous owner had.

It’s illegal to import these undergarments into Zimbabwe but most of them find their way into the country through illegal points.