Eve-teasing on campus
Eve-teasing is a rampant social evil. This has become a common phenomenon on Bangladesh Agricultural University campus. The issue always surfaces when something ugly happens. Knee-jerk reactions such as police patrol, `white' brigade actions, etc., continue for a short time. Public memory happens to be short and soon things return to the usual anarchy and we accept the fact that `nothing much can be done.'
Where does eve-teasing have its roots? Is this seen in every country? Eve-teasing is a crude way of garnering female attention. One must admit that eve-teasing can most certainly be perpetuated easily by its continued glorification in movies.
Eve-teasing is not a victimless crime as it appears on paper. It has resulted in deaths, and when it goes unchecked could lead to public humiliation of women even in broad daylight. Eve-teasing also portrays a bad image of the country among tourists. The immeasurable damage to a woman's self-esteem and the subsequent avoidance of public places by single women could hardly take us on the way to achieving gender equality.
Eve-teasing is a typical social crime, where the perpetrators and victims are ordinary people. Police prosecution can also never be severe because of the reluctance of victims to depose in court. A behavioural change is the only lasting solution to this problem. This requires an extensive public education aimed at every section of society at large.
Every action is performed with an intention. The intention behind eve-teasing is to catch a girl's eye and to arouse attention in some way; and more importantly this harassment is an early manifestation of patriarchal masculinity. Gender segregation and a `boys will be boys' attitude furthers this behaviour. Some movies and recent dramas show that eve-teasing eventually `wins' a girl's attention. Changing this behaviour is easier said than done. However, if things are left alone, they could hardly get better. Active solutions should be sought. For a starter, a massive sustained campaign by women's organisations highlighting this evil must be initiated. Debates on this issue must be organised in colleges, varsities, TV shows, etc., with responsible moderators who would listen and reason an argument instead of sounding outright biased. Parents should talk to their son about this. Cinema is a powerful medium to highlight this issue. Maybe when a movie addresses the fear and humiliation a girl experiences will people think about this `other side' of eve-teasing. A civilised society cannot afford to ignore such an issue.
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