'Eve Teasing'- a Social Curse
'Eve Teasing in Bangladesh' -Causes and Remedies
Introduction: Our Society is suffering from many social evils at the moment. One of the worst evils is the Eve Teasing. Now Eve teasing is one of the main threats for Bangladesh because it is destroying the social balance.
Eve teasing is a euphemism used for public sexual harassment, street harassment or molestation of women by men, with Eve being a reference to the biblical Eve. It usually involves young men annoying girls or women by making sexual innuendos in public or in work places. School and College gates or the street is the main target of the wayward young men to disturb girls and women. Eve teasing begins as an attempt to irritate a girl or catch her attention. A lewd stare, a sly whistle, a well-timed clap, an unwarranted bump, a seemingly causal touch, a lingering look at a vulnerable time, the humming of suggestive song, passing downright uncouth comments, cheap gestures, display of indecent snaps or videos, giving “unwelcome call” or “missed call”, sending indecent texts …., all these are typical examples of eve teasing.
Impacts of Eve Teasing: Eve teasing might seem harmless 'fun' to some, but gets the nerve of the victims. The severe impact of eve teasing is taking away the lives of young girls as Bangladesh has witnessed recently. Based on empirical study (2008) the Hunger Project has identified some impacts of eve teasing in the society of rural Bangladesh. These are: a) Curtailed education: Sexual harassment increases girls’ drop-out rate from school. Parents concerned about their daughter's honour or safety sometimes keep their daughters home and/or marry them off at an early age. b) Early marriage: Girls who are teased or harassed are also pushed into marriage, before they are physically or mentally prepared. c) Hindered development: Eve teasing contributes to maintaining the low status of women. It also hinders women in participating in the formal employment sector.
Introduction: Our Society is suffering from many social evils at the moment. One of the worst evils is the Eve Teasing. Now Eve teasing is one of the main threats for Bangladesh because it is destroying the social balance.
Eve teasing is a euphemism used for public sexual harassment, street harassment or molestation of women by men, with Eve being a reference to the biblical Eve. It usually involves young men annoying girls or women by making sexual innuendos in public or in work places. School and College gates or the street is the main target of the wayward young men to disturb girls and women. Eve teasing begins as an attempt to irritate a girl or catch her attention. A lewd stare, a sly whistle, a well-timed clap, an unwarranted bump, a seemingly causal touch, a lingering look at a vulnerable time, the humming of suggestive song, passing downright uncouth comments, cheap gestures, display of indecent snaps or videos, giving “unwelcome call” or “missed call”, sending indecent texts …., all these are typical examples of eve teasing.
Impacts of Eve Teasing: Eve teasing might seem harmless 'fun' to some, but gets the nerve of the victims. The severe impact of eve teasing is taking away the lives of young girls as Bangladesh has witnessed recently. Based on empirical study (2008) the Hunger Project has identified some impacts of eve teasing in the society of rural Bangladesh. These are: a) Curtailed education: Sexual harassment increases girls’ drop-out rate from school. Parents concerned about their daughter's honour or safety sometimes keep their daughters home and/or marry them off at an early age. b) Early marriage: Girls who are teased or harassed are also pushed into marriage, before they are physically or mentally prepared. c) Hindered development: Eve teasing contributes to maintaining the low status of women. It also hinders women in participating in the formal employment sector.