A | KAMPALA, Uganda -- Jostling for space, people jam the crowded footpaths crisscrossing a massive open market in Uganda's capital. They are mostly looking for secondhand clothing, sifting through underwear for pairs that seem new or trying on shoes despite getting pushed around in the crush.Downtown Kampala’s Owino Market has long been a go-to enclave for rich and poor people alike looking for affordable but quality-made used clothes, underscoring perceptions that Western fashion is superior to what is made at home. Discarded by Europeans and Americans, these clothes are often purchased from wholesalers and then shipped to African countries by middlemen. It's a multimillion-dollar business, with some two-thirds of people in seven countries in East Africa having “purchased at least a portion of their clothes from the secondhand clothing market,” according to a 2017 U.S. Agency for International Development study, the most recent with such details.Despite the popularity, secondhand clothes are facing increasing pushback. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, a semi-authoritarian leader who has held power since 1986, declared in August that he was banning imports of used clothing, saying the items are coming “from dead people.” “When a white person dies, they gather their clothes and send them to Africa,” Museveni said.Trade authorities have not yet enforced the president’s order, which needs to be backed by a legal measure such as an executive order. Other African governments also are trying to stop the shipments, saying the business amounts to dumping and undermines the growth of local textile industries. The East African Community trade bloc — consisting of Burundi, Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda — has recommended banning imports of used apparel since 2016. However, member states have not enforced it at the same pace amid pressure from Washington. In Uganda, the president's order has spread panic among traders, for whom such a ban, if implemented, spells disaster. They hawk used clothes in scores of large open-air markets across the country of 45 million people, at roadside stands and even in shops in malls where it’s possible to buy secondhand clothes marketed as new.The clothes are cheap and drop further in price as traders make room for new shipments: a pair of denim jeans can go for 20 cents, a cashmere scarf for even less.At one of Uganda’s Green Shops, a chain specializing in used clothes, apparel reseller Glen Kalungi shopped for items his customers might want: vintage pants for men and cottony tops for women.“I am a thrift shopper,” he said. “I usually come to these Green Shops to check out clothes because they have the best prices around town.”Kalungi likes to visit on clearance days when he can buy clothes for a fraction of a dollar. Then he sells them at a profit.The chain, whose owners include Europeans, unveils new clothes every two weeks at its three stores. Some of the items are sourced from suppliers in countries including China and Germany, retail manager Allan Zavuga said.“How they collect the clothes, we are not aware of that,” Zavuga said of their suppliers. “But (the clothes) go through all the verification, the fumigation, all that, before they are shipped to Uganda. And we get all documents for that.”The Green Shops are environmentally friendly because they recycle used clothes in bulk, he said.The association of traders in Kampala, known by the acronym KACITA, opposes a firm ban on used apparel, recommending a phased embargo that allows local clothing producers to build capacity to meet demand.Some Ugandan apparel makers, like Winfred Arinaitwe, acknowledge that the quality of locally made fabric is often poor. Not surprisingly, many people would rather buy used clothing, she said. "Because it lasts longer,” she said. “It can easily be seen.”In Owino Market, a ban on used clothes is inconceivable to many, including some who say they don't think the president’s threat was serious.Abdulrashid Ssuuna, who tries to persuade customers in the market to stop by his brother’s used clothing business, said a ban would deny him a livelihood.“It’s like they want to chase us out of the country,” he said of the president’s order. “From these old clothes, we get what to eat. If you say we leave this business, you are saying we go into new clothes. But we can’t afford to go there.”Ssuuna approaches people in Owino Market to urge them to visit the stall where his brother sells used jeans. The market is aggressively competitive, with merchants sitting behind heaps of clothes and shouting words of welcome to possible customers.If he helps his brother sell clothing, “I get something,” said Ssuuna, who started this work after dropping out of high school in 2020.The market is always full of shoppers, but business is unpredictable: Traders must try to anticipate what customers are looking for before they are lured by other sellers. Some days are better than others, said Tadeo Walusimbi, who has been a used-clothes trader for six years. A government ban is simply untenable, he warned. It “will not work for me and for so many people,” Walusimbi said.。 If there is one thing that almost all Indian's get influenced by in some way or the other, it is Bollywood. Today, as we celebrate International Women's Day, we have dived into our archives to find quotes by the leading ladies of Bollywood on things that matter. Be it beauty standards, pay disparity, being ambitious, motherhood, or simply the choices one makes, Alia Bhatt, Anushka Sharma, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Kareena Kapoor Khan say things that'll surely inspire you and help you navigate in a society that has for years been male dominated. Hear from your favourites... Kareena Kapoor Khan on taking it easy post 40 "In a journey of 20 years, if you’ve not matured as a person and as an artiste, you’ve not learnt anything. I started at the age of 17. Ek alag si energy hoti hai at that time. You’re like listen I can do anything. But, today I’m 40 and I’m like… I can’t. I’m in Zen mode. I just want to do my work. Even if I do one film at a time, I’ll give my best to that. But at 17, you want to be in every film and just kill it. The fire is still there but the flames were a lot higher at that time.” Priyanka Chopra Jonas on being looked down for being ambitious "I’m destiny’s favourite child and I believe that. I believe there’s a hand on my head, which guides me in the right direction. What I do is that I recognise opportunity. Not all have that ability. It might not bang on your door, it might just walk past you. But you should be able to make something out of it. That’s called being ambitious! And I’m proudly ambitious. Sadly, ambition has become a bad word! People say, ‘Haye woh badi ambitious hai!’" Deepika Padukone on pay disparity "Especially, when wage disparity has been such an important conversation, I’m glad it’s finally come to the fore. I’m also proud of it because I’ve earned it, not demanded it. It’s backed by the work I’ve put in over the years. Even if I’d demanded it, nobody is a fool to pay you that kind of money for no reason. Where bridging the wage disparity between actors and actresses is concerned, we still have a long way to go. But this is definitely a landmark moment." Anushka Sharma on motherhood "I would pick motherhood over my career. People are saying that we believe in feministic ideology and I’m saying that I do too. But you cannot say that choosing your career is being feminist and choosing motherhood isn’t. That’s wrong. The ability to choose is called being liberated." Alia Bhatt on being emotional "A 20-somethng shouldn’t believe she’s a poster girl of pure positivity and constant joy. That’s something I don’t want to put out there. I’m not a negative person. But I’ve a lot of doubts. I have confidence issues sometimes. And I’m not always smiling. I’m not always calm. I get stressed out. I get scared. That’s an important emotion that one should feel. I feel my emotions fully. Like even if I’ve got a pimple, I’ll cry." See Also: Alia Bhatt’s family reacts to pictures of Alia and Ranbir Kapoor’s supposed wedding card。
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