Editorial
Death of yet another stalker's victim
When will the societal slide be stemmed?
Yet another person has lost out to the evil power of the eve teasers. This time the victim is not actually the direct object of the stalkers but one who had dared to express his objection to their misdeeds. And yet again it is a teacher. Mizanur Rashid, a teacher of Chemistry at Lokmanpur College of Bagatipur upazilla in Natore succumbed to his injuries a fortnight after being deliberately crushed under the wheels of a motorcycle driven by the hoodlums he unsuccessfully tried stop from harassing college girls.
In fact such deaths are not new. Regrettably, over the last several months there have been many instances of fathers, brothers, uncles or colleagues of the victims being subjected to physical attack by the eve teasers. And Mizan is not the only teacher to have died after being assaulted by eve teasers. Only in March this year a teacher of Sylhet Women's College had met Mizan's fate. The prime suspect in that case is still at large and his associates are on bail. One of the accused in Mizan's killing has been arrested and we have been assured by the DIG that the absconding suspect would be apprehended soon. It will be sooner rather than later we hope. We would also hope that all the offenders are brought to justice and meted out exemplary punishment.
However, this is an issue that cannot be eliminated altogether by means of law alone. The phenomenon has come to be ingrained as a malaise in some segments of our youth. Teasing of women is seen by some as a chivalrous act, a grossly convoluted perception which has resulted in the death of many young girls. And the society at large appears quite helpless to prevent its recurrence or even stand by those that raise their voice in protest. This problem, we want to assert, is not a cut and dry issue where meting out punishments would see an end to it.
While it is necessary to put the offenders through the process of law quickly and made examples of, and as much as it is necessary to provide vigilance over sensitive areas, the problem, as it has evolved at present, needs the collective response of the society. It will be necessary to involve all sections of the public, particularly the youth, who should be used to sensitise the younger generation about the evil consequence of eve teasing and stalking. A common front must be organised in the towns and villages with the elders and respectable persons of the locality in the lead. Unless the issue is addressed urgently it may lead to a serious societal dissonance.
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