Eve Teasing has been growing recently like an epidemic throughout the country. The term is now very common to the younger generations. It means “to excite girls with unpleasant questions, annoyance, and irritating, ambling limbs and by creating blockade on the way without showing any courtesy.” Eve-teasing actually means nonsensical signs use of vernacular language in the presence of the teenage or older girls and women. This immoral activity is unfortunately on the increase in our country. Hooligans dejected and addicted boys especially choice to this senseless activity.
Eve teasing is a
threat that has grown to alarming proportions. Not many cities in Bangladesh
are considered safe for women. Though, we are one of the fastest growing
countries in world but we have yet to ensure the safety of working women and
students. Eve teasing is a huge issue in many metropolitan cities of
Bangladesh. It describes incidents of public sexual irritation, street
harassment or molestation of women by men. Eve teasing also involves sexually
suggestive remarks, groping, making rude motions and perverted teasing. These
disturbing incidents usually take place in public transport, streets, offices
and public places.
There has
been contrasting school of thoughts about incidents of eve teasing. Some
traditionalists blame it on females saying they irritate the culprits by
wearing evocative dresses. They recommend old-fashioned dresses for women.
However, going by the records; it is hard to prove that conservatively dressed
women have not gone through eve teasing. School girls, college going students,
working women etc regularly go through humiliating comments by the unruly men.
Eve teasing can leave a permanent psychological scar on women.
One study shows
that 35 percent of the eve teasers are anti-socials, 32 percent are students
and 33 percent of eve teasers belong to middle age. Large numbers of females in
metropolitan cities are carrying deterrents to protect themselves. Many others
are taking self-defense classes. Though the judiciary and government are taking
stringent actions against eve teasers but statistics do not show any real
improvement.
Many accidents occurred
as a result of eve teasing. Some accidents which occurred in the year 2010 are
given bellow-
According to the posted
report on 28 April 2010, woman’s dead body recovered in Madaripur. The police
recovered a dead body from a pond in Madaripur on Tuesday.
On 21 April 2010 Chunarughat police in
Habiganj on Monday night rescued an 11-year-old who was kidnapped.
Posted on 21 April 2010
Dhaka, Apr 19 RAB helped organize a local
arbitration as a way of entrapping four men, accused of raping a teenager.
Posted on 19 April 2010
Acid thrown on woman over land dispute
Madaripur, Apr 17 Miscreants have thrown
acid on a woman at Morelkandi village under Kutubpur Union of Shibchar upazila
in Madaripur on Friday night.
Posted on 19 April 2010
Housewife murdered for dowry in Chuadanga
A housewife was killed allegedly by her
husband and in-laws over dowry at Buropara village in Alamdanga upazila of
Chuadanga Friday night.
Posted on 19 April 2010
School teacher killed by husband
A man allegedly strangulated his wife to
death at the city’s Hazaribagh on Saturday while police recovered two bodies
from Jatrabari area yesterday.
Posted on 17 April 2010
College girl commits suicide in Chuadanga
A college student committed suicide in
Cinema hall area of Chuadanga district town on Thursday night.
Posted on 17 April 2010
Two JU teachers charged with sexual
harassment
A woman teacher of international relations
at Jahangirnagar University on Thursday lodged a complaint with the
Posted on 17 April 2010
Rally against harassment of female
students in DU
The Rover Scouts of Dhaka University
staged a rally on Friday on the campus to protest against the harassment of
girls. Several hundred scouts from all over the city joined the rally.
Posted on 14 April 2010
The reports on a 16 year old schoolgirl’s
suicide stated that “Police strangely claim she committed suicide”. Whereas the
victim’s mother claims that prior to her daughter’s death she had identified
and accused a 24 year old man (one whose unwanted proposals had been turned
down) of pouring kerosene on her, striking a match.
Posted on 14 April 2010
Brammanbaria, Apr 12 A husband has
killed his wife at Budhunti village of Bijoynagar upazila on Monday morning.
Posted on 14 April 2010
Sylhet, Apr 12 A first year female student
of computer science and engineering of Shahjalal University of Engineering and
Technology of Sylhet committed suicide on Monday dawn. The dead, Sayma Sultana
Ani, of Trishal upazila in Mymensingh, was a year-first student. Her father
works at Fenchuganj Fertiliser Factory. It could not be ascertained why she
suicide?
Posted on 10 April 2010
Her actress daughter hurt in attack. The
mother of a film actress was killed and actress Lata severely injured in an
attack by Lata’s ex-husband and his associates on Thursday night in Savar.
Eve teasing is a
major problem in Bangladesh especially in metropolitan cities. The capital of
Bangladesh Dhaka leads other cities when it comes to crime against women. A
large percentage of Bangladeshi women have faced or are facing this threat.
Whether it is a public transport system or public places or shopping malls or
multiplexes, women find themselves vulnerable to the threat of eve teasing
everywhere.
As we know, the
term ‘eve teasing’ is an Indian origin. Probing further, the problem of eve
teasing took its roots during the 60s when women had started to venture out for
schools, colleges and jobs. A social change was taking place in conservative
India. The giant movement of women liberation came with its own side effects
and one of them was eve teasing.
Eve teasing keeps
surfacing in different forms. Right from a flirtatious comment to street
harassment and molestation, it can turn disastrous for women. No amounts of
efforts and policies have proved to be particularly effective against this
serious problem. Though, government and administration has taken steps like
deploying plain clothed cops and special units like anti Romeo squads to curb
the menace. Some of the state governments have made eve teasing a non-bail able
offence.
According to the
frightening report of 3rd May 2010, in India, every 21 minutes
a woman is molested and every 51 minutes a woman is sexually harassed. That
tells us about the gravity of the situation. Eve teasing is a social menace
that a woman has to contend with every day. There have been endless debates on
why eve teasing is so rampant in India. Some blame it on influence of western
culture whereas some others point their fingers on intriguing psychological
reasons like fun and frustration of sex.
Eve teasing is uncontrolled
throughout the country. It does not matter whether a woman is fair or dark,
school going or office going, she has to face eve teasing incidents almost on a
regular basis. It is a normal trend in Bollywood movies to show eve teasing as
a way to woo woman’s heart. Eve teasing is also depicted as a mode of fun for
the leading characters at the cost of women’s dignity.
It is not that fun, love
or sex is the only reason that prompts men to indulge in such frivolous
behavior. On the contrary, women are raised with the mindset that they are the
weaker sex and vulnerable.
Eve teasing is a violation of
a woman’s basic right to live in dignity. Women have always been subject to eve
teasing and the trend unfortunately, continues even today. In fact, number of
crimes against the women is constantly increasing. The cases pertaining to eve
teasing, sexual harassment, rape, molestation etc are on all time high.
Ironically, the concept of women empowerment has brought with it countless
numbers of sexual crimes against them. When it comes to eve teasing, no matter
what are the educational background, social group, complexion and race of
women, many of them have gone through these unpleasant experiences. Study
shows, almost 90 percent of college going girls have experienced some sort of
sexual harassment at different points of time. Truth can’t be more painful than
that.
Bangladeshi law
recognizes eve teasing as sexual harassment which is considered as a criminal
activity. Bangladeshi law does not mention the term ‘eve teasing’. In recent
times, the laws have been made stringent so that victim could take recourse
under the law. Obscene gestures, recitation or remarks can land the victim into
prison for a maximum tenure of three months. That’s not all. Even showing
pornographic materials, pictures, books etc to a girl can invite two years of
rigorous imprisonment along with fine of Rs. 2000.
Unfortunately, not many women
register complaints of eve teasing or harassment because of the fear of
humiliation and public exposure. Many women who were victim of sexual
harassment commit suicide because of constant social barbs. The society is not
kind to the victims. The problem here is of mindset. Even if the laws are
there, one needs to pursue them with full might. It is not possible for every
victim to stand in the court of law and answer uncomfortable questions. Many a
times, parents themselves ask their daughters to forget the incident as it can
cause them public shame and embarrassment.
However, we must appreciate
the efforts taken by different NGOs and social welfare organizations who are
trying to educate people about the grave consequences of eve teasing. They are
also conducting programs to sensitize the males who are prone to such behavior.
The focus here is on changing the mindset and respecting the women. The
attitude towards women needs to be altered only then we can expect gender
equality in the real sense of the word.
The threat of eve teasing can only
be overcome by empowering women to fight back. To weed out this evil, harsh
laws are also needed. They say it’s tough being a woman in Bangladeshi. It is
like a same story every day for thousands of women all across the country.
Right from the time they venture out of their homes for schools, colleges or
offices, they have to be on their toes all the time. Women need to be alert
while stepping on the street, waiting for the bus or sitting in an auto and
moving in the market place. It can be hugely insulting and embarrassing to be
subject to constant ogling, groping, lecherous comments and sexual advances.
Many women have
been found carrying pins, chili powder, pen-knives and even daggers to protect
themselves. Self-defense classes have mushroomed across metropolitan cities
that teach martial arts and karate etc. Joining those classes will not be a bad
idea.
If the women want to
protect themselves against eve teasing, they got to be street smart. While
going out, avoid dark lonely streets as that can invite trouble. Walk only
through well lit area. If they are being followed by a sick youth, they can
walk up to them and shout from the top of their lungs. It is suggested not to
wear skimpy clothes if they are going to spend their day in a crowded area.
Dress appropriately as provocative dresses can invite unwanted attention.
Lastly, they should try to travel with a male accompany. Though it may not
always be possible but try to have arrangements where male escort is
accompanying them. It is always better to be safe than sorry.
On a positive note, there are
plenty of NGOs in Bangladesh who are working for the cause of women
empowerment. They are teaching women on how to deal with difficult people and
how to fight back against the harassment at workplace. Workplace gender
discrimination is not a new thing but some prominent organizations are leading
the way to rectify the situation. Dealing with eve teasing has been made
further easy by some charity organizations that help women with harassment
problems. We still have to go a long way to completely rectify the situation.
Eve Teasing is a common phenomenon
in Bangladesh. Every other day, women come across some sort of eve teasing
incidents that leave a deep psychological scar on them. This is a sad state of
affairs faced by women of young age. The role of parents becomes very crucial
in such situation. Many a times, it has been found that suffering women get no
help from their parents. Instead of parents lending a healing touch to their
daughters, they place the entire blame on them.
First, parents should make
girl child comfortable enough that she can share anything with them. If a girl
has been harassed or been subject to molestation, the first place she would
expect to be understood is her parents. It is the responsibility of the parents
to bring up their children whether male or female with love, patience, honesty,
respect for other sex and confidence. Parents can play a major role in healing
the psychological alarm inflicted on their daughter. They need to work as role
models for their children.
Parents
should pay close attention to their teenage son, his activities and his friend
circle. The truth is no parents like to have eve teasers son. They will not
approve such behavior from their son. But the seeds of the right behavior are
needed to be implanted from the childhood only. Parents should impart education
in a way that child can understand both sexes are equal. A son should not be
made to believe that he can go away with any crime or atrocity against a
female. He should also be taught about respecting a woman.
Parents should focus on
proper girl education. They need to work on girl empowerment. It is their job
to make their children behave in an appropriate way and take necessary actions
whenever needed. Parents of teenage girls should deal with them in a friendly
manner. It is a sign of successful parenting when the offspring reposes
absolute faith in his/her parents and share agonies and sorrows. If the parents
are alert they can always help in avoiding a major tragedy.
As it is a complex
social problem that will not vanish until the mindset is changed. Apart from
law, it is also about education and respecting women. Just because women are
considered weaker sex doesn’t mean that they should take things lying down.
Awareness is the need of hour and government should take necessary step to
prevent it.
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