Eve teasing Composition : Eve-teasing has been the most talked topic in our country during recent times. Actually, it is an ultra modern nuisance of our modern life. A number of innocent girls have already committed suicide being victims of this social evil. It has also been reported that many guardians and teachers are being tortured, even killed by the teasers for protesting eve-teasing.
What is eve teasing: ‘Eve’ refers to the first woman in the world mentioned in the Bible. All women represent ‘Eve’. So teasing a woman is called ‘eve teasing’. it is actually a euphemism for sexual harassment or street harassment of women by men. Most of the people in Bangladesh are conservative. Any word expressing sexual term still makes us uneasy. That is why, the term ‘eve-teasing’ has , been introduced in place of sexual harassment .
What eve-teasing includes : The eve-teasers use a variety of forms to harass women and girls. The main form is stalking on the streets. Especially school and college going girls, female teachers and working women become victims of eve-teasing on the streets. The teasers are usually found to tease them using slang language, singing irritating songs, making vulgar movements of the limbs, offering flying kiss, taking snaps and even coming unexpectedly in physical contact. Working women are also teased in the above ways sometimes in their working places. On the other hand, with the advancement of science and technology women and girls are being irritated through SMS, cell phone call, e-mail and Internet in various ways.
Who are eye teasers : Those who are involved in committing the crime of eve-teasing are eve-teasers. They come from different walks of life. According to a study of Bangladesh National Women Lawyers’ Association, teenage boys, rickshaw pullers, bus drivers, street vendors, traffic police and sometimes supervisors or colleagues of the working women are found to be eve-teasers. Besides, derailed youths, desperate political workers and drug addicts often tease women and girls.
Reasons behind eve-teasing : Different groups of people think differently about the reasons behind eve-teasing. According to some traditionalists , naturally women are the enticers and men are victims of their enticement . Especially, alluring dress-up of modern women leads men to commit eve-teasing. They also think going out of women and girls independently for work or education responsible for eve teasing. But these views are strongly opposed by the modern school of thought. They argue that in spite of wearing traditional dresses, women and girls are being reported to be victims of eve-teasing around the country. This school thinks that moral degradation and gender discrimination are the main reasons behind eve-teasing. Besides. they think, lack of suitable laws to punish the teasers makes the situation worse.
Consequence of eve-teasing : Eve-teasing leaves deep psychological effects on the victims. Sometimes they try to find relief’ through suicide. eve-teasing is affecting people almost everyday. On the other hand, the long term consequences of eve-teasing is more serious. It increases drop-out rate of girls from school and makes many parents marry their daughters off at an early age.
Steps already taken to stop eve-teasing : The govt. has included section 509 to our penal code MWO on 09- Nov. 2010 to ensure punishment of the teasers. The Police Headquarters also introduced a hotline ‘999’ to provide immediate help for the victims. According to the directives of the Ministry of Education ‘Eve teasing Prevention Committee’ has already been formed in every educational institution of the country. Bangladesh has declared 13 June as ‘Eve-teasing Prevention Day, Every year this day will be observed to make people aware of the consequences of eve-teasing. But all these seem too inadequate to stop the social evil.
How to prevent eve-teasing : To prevent eve-teasing first of all, moral education should be ensured. In the family, male-female relationship should be explained clearly to the children. Socially, awareness raising programme regarding eve-teasing should be launched. Besides, empowerment of women should be ensured through eradicating gender discrimination. Finally the govt. should introduce strict laws and ensure their enforcement to stop eve-teasing. Conclusion : Eve-teasing has reached to such an alarming state in Bangladesh. nowadays that it is high time we took necessary steps to prevent it in a priority basis. If we fail to do that, our dreams to build up a healthy society and achieve the millennium development goal will be shattered . We must bear in mind that fighting against eve-teasing in our moral duty, social obligation and legal right.
You Can also see-
Dialogue between two friends about Eve teasing
