The toddler is inconsolable, irate that he be fed immediately and insistent on removing the delicate netela, white shawl, that his mother modestly tries to cover her body with. The child grapples at the fabric with a fury; it attacks with his inward-curled palms; kicks away at the shawl with tiny knuckles and legs; and scowls, screws and twists his little mouth, pushing his eyes and cheeks to reach his mother’s milk. She finally relents and surrenders to the infant.

The little figure draws close to her embrace and nurses greedily, sinking into a state of bliss that seems to feed both his hunger and his emotions. The mother looks out the window of a packed bus where she sits next to the isle and gazes sideways through a window where vehicles, carts, pedestrians and taxis jostle for positions on the overcrowded street.

The passengers, mostly middle-aged men and women, and a smattering of young squawking youth, seem to be utterly oblivious of the breastfeeding mother sitting among them. There are no murmurs of disapproval, talk of retribution nor shaming, or even a disapproving glance thrown at the two delicately intertwined figures - the Litta Madonna of Leonardo da Vinci.

Accounts of mothers being shamed for publicly breastfeeding their toddlers in modern cities across the globe are not uncommon. These accounts are not confined to the West. There are reports of protests coming from Hong Kong, Argentina and even from neighbouring Kenya against women who nurse their children in public.

There is a recent story of a Utah woman in the United States who is reprimanded that her open breastfeeding is “a modesty issue,” according to Buzzfeed. The mother was reportedly told by her cleric that a woman's modesty is necessary "so that men don't have dirty thoughts."

In Ethiopia, the presence of a nursing mother in the cramped confines of a dirty crowded bus is just a mere fact of life. This contrasts with the West’s confused morality that unwittingly imposes incredulous bounds to the vastness and harmony of creation. A nursing mother and a suckling infant anywhere in the public sphere should arouse no controversy; nor any questions of morality, immodesty or otherwise be considered any different than a queen cat nursing its kittens.

Ethiopians, steeped in ancient cultures and religions, can teach the rest of the world a thing or two about morality. A recent American visitor, for instance, was puzzled to see two middle-aged men in suits walking into a hotel lobby hand in hand. The men proceeded to hold each other’s hands as they approached another colleague who joined them at a table where the affectionate physical exchanges continued with the occasional pats and caresses.

Men and women across the country show unfettered affection to one another without the connotation of sexuality or morality, which has obliterated natural human interactions in the Western world. As the United States and other rich countries grapple with these issues, Ethiopians march on with little concern or awareness that the public display of affection between the sexes or public breastfeeding has any bearing on the question of morality and sexuality.