Editorial
Stalking and harassing young women still unabated
Organised resistance and deterrent punishment called for
Much as we would like to think a momentum has come into the business of resisting those who stalk and harass young women, we cannot but note that incidents of such stalking or harassment have been going on across the country. Only the other day, a schoolgirl was murdered over her refusal to accept an indecent proposal from a young man in Satkhira. In Noakhali, another young woman was subjected to acid throwing and consequential burns at the hands of a gang of local criminals. In Chapainawabganj, a schoolgirl has simply stopped going to classes because of the harassment and humiliation she has been subjected to day after day by wayward young men in her locality. In Kushtia, a young man brave enough to protest the harassment of a young woman was stabbed to death by her stalkers.
We will not pretend that these four incidents are isolated in nature. Nor can we suggest that harassment of a similar nature is not going on in other regions of the country. The fact is that women, especially the young among them, are in a number of instances today victims of a society fast declining in values. To be sure, there has of late been a growing awareness in the country of the necessity of putting an end to the harassment and stalking they go through. Both at the levels of the government and the media, much attention has been and is being focused on ways and means of handling the issue. In a fairly good number of instances, wayward young men caught in the act of harassing young women have been subjected to swift punishment in public. While such action is commendable, it has to be said that the pattern of apprehending the culprits and punishing them must become a regular one. Indeed, the punishment must be a good deal more than a mere act of making a young man say sorry when he is caught causing nuisance in public. In other words, deterrent punishment is called for.
Incidents of urban harassment apart, there remains the matter of what measures to apply in dealing with the elements stalking young women in the rural areas. The vulnerability of women and their families is most acute there, which means a greater degree of vigilance on the part of the police, village elders, the teaching community and imams of mosques now becomes necessary. In the overall sense, the drive against eve teasing or stalking or harassment must be geared up all over the country. It will be advisable to have every stalker detected subjected to swift and harsh punishment if those yet bent on intimidating young women are to be prevented from carrying out their nefarious purposes.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. 
Related News
India’s ‘push-in’ strategy violates international law
37 MIN(s) ago
Editorial
Why build roads through a reserved forest?
5 hour(s) ago
Editorial
An alarming report on children’s exposure to climate risks
19 June 2026, 19:07 PM
Editorial
Why is safe water inaccessible for millions despite rising spending?
19 June 2026, 08:00 AM
Editorial
BB must confront bad loans’ true scale
18 June 2026, 18:38 PM
Editorial
Comments