Eve teasing is very common social problem and every day women come-across some form of eve teasing. In this case, do you think that women should be empowered to fight back due to end this evil act
Introduction:
I subscribe to a pretty broad range of feeds that expose me to things I normally know about a troubling phenomenon in Bangladesh called ‘eve teasing’, describes it in this way: Eve teasing is a new way for Bangladesh to stop public sexual harassment, street harassment or molestation of women by men. It’s a great psychological torture because it makes us so weak. We feel so weak. We feel so repressed. About a problem called “Eve Teasing”. Eve teasing is a euphemism for verbal and physical harassment of women by men. Sometimes it can even lead to rape.
What is eve-teasing?
Eve-teasing is normally meant as teasing a girl or woman. Eve-teasing refers to public sexual harassment or street harassment to a girl by a boy, when it turns into a serious issue. Eve-teasing is a very common term in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan.
Eve-Teasing in Bangladesh:
Eve-teasing is not a new problem in Bangladesh. It is a concern since many years. Almost every young girl is a victim of teasing, especially by the local young teaser. The most of the people may avoid it as a common matter with young generation. Yes, it is. But when it crosses the line, it will raise as a problem to us. It is surely a social problem. These days, many girls have committed suicide only to safe themselves from eve-teasing. That means, eve-teasing in Bangladesh has reached its maximum range. This is against the women rights without any doubt. Those who are involved with this kind of embarrass stuff can be named as a terrorist.
Negative effect of Eve-teasing in Bangladesh:
Eve-teasing has a great negative influence over the family, society and of course the country. The demerits of eve-teasing are very clear to us. Many girls are committing suicide to save them from the teasers. This is not only frightening but threatening as well. This is a real shame. Many of Girls are feeling insecure to go the school. As a result, the parents are not allowing the girls to go to school or even outside of home. This is how the drop-out rate of female students is increasing day by day. Not only this, the victim girl may lose his mental balance. In most cases, girls are letting married in an early age. This underage marriage problem is also increasing by the eve-teasing problem. The guardians assuming, their daughter will be safe and fine with her husband. Basically the rate of illiterate people is high in Bangladesh. This is illiteracy is a curse in this modern era. The female illiteracy is higher too. In this case, if this eve-teasing problem exists for a long time, Bangladesh will let down from worse to worst in terms of female education. If the girls are getting married in an early age, they will probably having more babies, which will make the population problem destructive. so in a sense, it can be said that Eve-teasing may create more problem beyond our expectation and Eve-teasing are becoming more dangerous.
Various forms of Eve-Teasing in Bangladesh:
Eve-teaching has attacked our society in various forms. With all its forms it is destroying the society.
1. Eve-teasing with school going female students: At the adolescent age, male students while passing by a school make many indecent remarks hurting the female students. An adolescent young boy follows a girl from her school to her residence just to attract the attention of the girl. Such other ways of eve-teaching are passing bad comments and writing indecent letters etc. In some case, some eve-teaser venture them to make a relation with a young girl forcibly. It puts the concerned girl into such a mental trauma that it is hard to bear. Following such a mental trauma some young girl takes their lives and thus a potential life comes to an end.
2. Eve-teasing on mobile: Eve-teasing on mobile phone has become the most popular form. A stalker, getting a mobile phone, starts teasing a girl in many ways. At first, he sends SMS in ornamental and rhetorical language to which a young girls easily falls victim as the she is also an adolescent. Becoming a victim to this, a young girl develops a relation, on which that particular boy capitalizes. Some intimate moments are captured by hidden camera or video recorder and these are later on circulated through the Internet. That is a reason why mobile phone sometimes becomes a curse despite its multiple benefits.
3. Sexual harassment by Internet: Of late the young boys and girl in the cities are used to chatting through Internet by which they come closer to each other. Being adolescent, the boys and girls fall victim to their sensuality extreme world.
Causes behind Eve-teasing:
A large part of young generation has gone at the verge of astray now a days. Following might be the probably causes behind this suffocation situation for the whole civilization:
- Exotic culture achieved from abroad.
- Depression
- Lack of social and family
- Bad associations
- dominating mentality over the physically weaker sex
- Satellite and mobile culture
- political involvement and abuse of power
- Detachment from the family
- Ignorant and defying of the law
- Lack of Respect upon the opposite sex.
Weak law:
The law prohibits rape and physical spousal abuse, but it makes no specific provision for spousal rape as a crime. A total of 3,516 rapes and 3,523 incidents of spousal abuses were officially reported during the year. Of the spousal abuse cases, 2,814 were related to disputes over dowry. Of the 2,130 alleged rapists that were prosecuted, 63 persons were convicted. The Government reports that other rape cases are under trial. During the year, the Government also has enacted laws specifically prohibiting certain forms of discrimination against women, including the Anti-Dowry Prohibition Act of 1960, 1973,1980,1983,1995, 2000. However, enforcement of these laws is weak, especially in rural areas, and the Government seldom prosecutes those cases that are filed. As a result, the Government often holds women who file rape complaints in safe custody, usually in prison. Safe custody frequently results in further abuses against victims, discouraging the filing of complaints by other women, and often continues for extended periods during which women often are unable to gain release.
New law:
At last, Dhaka, 2010 Nov.11 Mobile courts in Bangladesh have been empowered to prosecute people accused of sexually harassing women, or eve teasing, officials have said, anyone convicted of sexual harassment or stalking of women will face a year in jail or a fine of about 70 dollars or both. Now the government hopes mobile courts can dispose of the cases quickly – and that the punishments they hand out will act as a deterrent to others. Mobile courts all across the country will be trying these cases. District officials can form mobile courts whenever they think it is necessary.
Unwelcome attention:
Eve- teasing is not just a college girl’s problem. It leads to insecurity for parents or to even anyone who’s loved one undergoes this. This unwelcome masculine attention on women subjects them to an unimaginable sexual pressure. Tucking this issue under the carpet is not a solution. A civilized society cannot afford to ignore such an issue. Eve-teasing deserves to be tackled actively. Eradicating eve-teasing will help women access public places fearlessly and will further gender equality, much more than can be achieved by reservation of seats for women in parliament. Hence eve-teasing is one of the major issues nowadays as the countries start developing and more women are entering the job-market.
The response:
Dhaka metropolitan police ordinance and the penal code of 1860 affirm that any acts, conducts, or verbal abuses that are used to disgrace women are punishable by law. 18 In other words, sexual harassment is illegal. However, state interventions have been inadequate in stopping it to date. The law enforcing authorities have failed to protect women and girls.
We must take sexual harassment seriously and bring it to a halt. We can do this through the legal system, by enforcing the laws, arresting the perpetrators, and bringing them to trial. Alongside a legal response, we must also work to alter the underlying conditions that give rise to the offense. by raising the status of women and girl, and endeavoring to achieve gender equality, we can end the practice of sexual harassment, end hunger and uplift the quality of life for all.
Conclusion:
Eve teasing is a wrong against the honor, dignity and self respect of a woman. It hurts her immensely. There is a strong need for combating this fast growing problem. Policing should be more responsive to the needs of women, for instance with decided police cells and help lines for victims. State and public institutions should take more seriously the implementation of the directive on sexual harassment issued by the High Court last year or face severe sanctions. Civil society organizations and women’s group should be given should be given more resources to support and counsel victims, and launch public awareness campaigns.
By law, the government should make it mandatory that the youth found to be guilty in eve-teasing deaths should be dismissed from the school/ college he is studying and also barred from joining any other school/college – even through correspondence. They should not be allowed to join the government services. Their Driving Licenses should also be cancelled permanently. No Bank or Insurance Company should entertain them for opening a Bank account or getting an Insurance policy. They should not be passports, throughout their lives. All these punishments should be apart from rigorous imprisonment for a few years. In essence, they should be Blacklisted at all levels and made a “Zero”.
After considering all these I think we can conclude in this way that it’s only our combined actions and participation from everyone in the society can solve this problem.