Eve Teasing
Our society is suffering from many social evils at the moment. Our of the worst evils in the “Eve Teasing”. It is a term which usually involves young men annoying or disquieting (ডিসকোয়ায়েটিং – উত্যক্ত করে) girls or women by making sexual innuendos (ইন্ইউয়েন্ডোজ্ – কটাক্ষ/ব্যঙ্গোক্তি) against them in public or in workplaces.
Considered a problem related to delinquency (ডিলিনকোয়েন্সি - অপকর্ম) in youth, it is a form of sexual aggression that ranges in severity from sexually suggestive remarks, brushing in public places, catcalls (ক্যাটকল্স – শিস দেওয়া), to outright groping (গ্রোপিং – অন্ধকারে হাতড়ানো). Sometimes it is referred to with a coy suggestion (কয় সাজেশন – লজ্জাস্কর প্রস্তাব) of innocent fun, making it appear innocuous (ইনকিউয়াস – অনুপকারী) with no resulting liability on the part of the perpetrator (পারপিট্রেটর – অপরাধী ব্যক্তি). Ministry in Bangladesh has designated (ডেজিগ্নেটেড্ - মনোনীত করল) 13 June 2010 as Eve Teasing Protection Day. This declaration reflects increasing concern over the worrying number of girls and women who have committed suicide in the country to escape sexual harassment known as eve-teasing. Eve teasing, as we call it, is men’s street sexual harassment or molestation (মলিস্টেশন – উৎপীড়ন/উৎপীড়িত অবস্থা) of young women who travel their own streets to and from work, school, or their assorted (অ্যাসর্টেড্ – বিভিন্ন রকম/পাঁচমিশালী) tasks. In the male-dominated (মেল ডমিনেটেড্ – পুরুষ শাসিত) society of Bangladesh, this eve-teasing has mostly been ignored (ইগনোরড্ - অজ্ঞতাবশত). These teasers, who have nothing better to do, have the decency (ডিসেন্সি – শালীনতা/শিষ্টতা) of their souls sold out to the devils of disrespect towards women. This particular issue needs a recipe (রেসিপি - নিয়মনির্দেশ) for change because eve-teasing leaves a hung impact in both our individual and national life.
Victimized women and girls do not only get psychologically troubled but also continuously feel insecure (ইনসিকিউর - নিরাপত্তাহীনতা) to go outside their homes. They develop a sense of disbelieve and humiliation against men. In fact, within the patriarchal (পেট্রিয়ার্কাল - পিতৃতান্ত্রিক) social fabric, eve-teasing is a weapon to weaken, hurt or force women to consign (কন্সাইন্ - প্রেরণ) to domestic affairs. It evidently restricts women’s mobility in the public, which contributes to their diminishing participation and contribution in outdoor activities and also causes early marriage. There is increasing realization that eve-teasing severely restricts the mobility of women and girls, which is unquestionably a threat to women’s empowerment. Altogether, though apparently invisible, the cost of eve-teasing is huge at our national and individual life in Bangladesh.
Along with that, in Bangladesh, it has gradually become brutal (ব্রুটাল – বর্বর/নিষ্ঠুর) form of sexual harassment (হ্যারাসমেন্ট – হয়রানি/উৎপীড়ন) often resulting in grievous (গ্রীভাস্ - কষ্টদায়ক) hurt, abduction (অ্যাবডাক্শন্ - অপহরণ), acid throwing, rape murder and forced suicide. Eve teasing, though, had been previously considered under the VAW reports of BNWLA since 2000, but from 2005 the organization has declared crusade against eve-teasing and published a poster trying to bring this matter into the limelight (লাইমলাইট – বহুল প্রচার) and held various discussions, meetings and event held a press conference to create awareness as well. In 2004-05 the Bangladeshi women’s group, Mahila Parishad distributed a poster and conducted a campaign against eve-teasing because several young women, students, and even young girls committed suicide owing to social pressures-shame-daily harassment. In 2010, a news organization reported 45 suicide deaths in the last four years.
So, for making a better world, we have to stop eve-teasing by establishing a proper law or powerful law. Otherwise, it’s may not be possible to make a ‘HAPPY BANGLADESH’ because women are obvious part of our society while eve teaser should be abandoned (অ্যাবান্ডন্ড - পরিত্যক্ত).