Guinea has placed a temporary ban on beauty pageants in Guinea in response to outrage over bikinis.
Mamady Youla, the country’s prime minister, had attended a beauty pageant during the weekend, where contestants in swimsuits (bikinis) paraded in front of him.
This elicited criticisms from Guineans who accused the prime minister of encouraging prostitution by being present at the event.
Many nationals of the country had taken to social media to slam their government and express their distaste, BBC Afrique reports.
This tweeter said the competition was “a shame” to Guinean culture:
#missguinee2017 une honte a la culture guinéenne pic.twitter.com/tBtDaLjYwO
— Lansana Keita (@lansanakeita22) February 12, 2017
Guinea is an extremely conservative society with a majority Muslim population.
The government has said the ban will remain in place until a committee is set up to establish a new code of ethics.
Siaka Barry, Guinea’s culture minister, said the government had terminated its contract with the organisers of the pageant.
Barry was also present at the beauty pageant that led to the government-ordered ban.
One publication, Flash Guinee, asked in its headline if the prime minister was encouraging prostitution.
The ban is until a new code of ethics has been drawn up, Culture Minister Siaka Barry said.
He said a committee has been set up to come up with that code.
He added that the government has ended its contract with the organisers of the beauty pageant.
