Steps needed to prevent eve teasing

Eve teasing in the country has become worse. Almost every day in media we see reports of murders of schoolgirls and adolescents by eve teasers. A schoolgirl was hacked to death in an attack by a man in Sadar upazila of Chapainawabganj last Friday.

In the last few decades, a deadly disease that has spread in the society is eve teasing. The eve teasers continue to eve tease young schoolgirls and college girls by blocking their streets. They also show indecent gesture. Most of time eve teasers chase girls and propose them. To do this, they follow up to the students’ home.

In many cases, we see no good results although the girls protest these incidents. The eve teasers are often the sons of the influential in the locality. For this reason, victim family does not get any courage to lodge any complaint against them. The victim families are seen to receive threats if complaints are filed. Most of time they force their children to leave the schools and colleges.

The nuisance of the eve teasers continues to increase as they face no bar or trial. There is no statistics of victims at the hand of eve teasers in our country. But many girls are committing suicide being victim of harassment of the eve teasers which are being published in the media.

On March 10, HSC examinee Reshma Khatun committed suicide when two spoilt boys harassed her in Sherpur upazila of Bogra. On March 24, a youth proposed a girl to marry her in front of her parents in the capital’s Gulshan. Rejected, the youth killed her parents and fled the scene. Earlier on last year, a girl named Runa Aktar was killed by following same reason.

Marriage proposal being rejected, a female and her three girls were killed by some miscreants in Mirzapur upazila of Tangail on October 6, 2014. On the same day and same reason, a youth named Sohel hacked a girl to death in Bauphal upazila of Patuakhali. In January of 2010, schoolgirl Pinky committed suicide after being eve teased in the capital’s Shyamoli.

A few years ago, law was passed to prevent eve teasing. Besides, there are laws for women protection. But many do not take shelter to law due to dilatoriness at trial process, non-cooperation of local administration. Again, victim’s family does not get any support from the administration when the guardians of eve teasers are influential.

Main condition of a democratic system is to ensure rule of law. So the eve teasers should be given exemplary punishment to ensure rule of law. The government should take effective steps to prevent eve teasing.

risingbd/Dhaka/May 31, 2016/Shahed/Amirul