Editorial
Public vow to stop stalking
We offer our wholehearted support
WE are happy to note that a public declaration was made the other day by all segments of society to put up a common front to resist the evil of eve-teasing. This was done under the aegis of the education ministry. We endorse the move and pledge our full support to the cause.
There are some social ills which cannot be stopped through legislation or through the process of law alone. These ills gradually turn into evil, as we observe happening with so-called eve-teasing, unless society at large is made to realise that it has a stake in rectifying the malady. The situation has come to such a pass that without the involvement of all of us such behaviour cannot be put right.
Eve-teasing, a euphemism for the vilest form of repression against women, has, of late, taken a new dimension in this country. The practice of stalking young girls has driven many to commit suicide. In some cases the parent of the victim was driven to such a state of desperation that he was left with no other alternative but to end his life, unable to seek the help of police under threat from the criminals.
And society had appeared helpless in the face of such depraved conduct to do anything meaningful. One of the reasons why incidents of stalking and eve-teasing have gone on in this manner is the impunity that these people enjoy, with some of the perpetrators benefiting from the patronization of the political parties.
The ministry of education, the minister in particular, must be complimented for the idea of an awareness campaign and bringing together various sections of society and the students in the venture. We agree with the call of the minister that the stalkers will not be spared. But at the same time we must all come together to ensure that such things do not occur in the first place. And in this regard the political parties must take the lead at the national level.
While all that is needed to create disincentives for the perpetrators must be done, we feel that both, the programme of awareness as well as resistance, ought to start at the local level. And all the available institutions at the local level must be involved in the programme. Not only must the elders of the locality, led by the ward commissioners, get involved in the programme, the influence of the cultural organisations, sports clubs and other such bodies of the locality must be made use of, both as a means of entertainment to keep the youths occupied as well as a way of creating awareness against social evils.
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