Female harassment in South Asia

Written by Mashal Usman • September 2010

4-1 Eve teasing has become a particularly disturbing social evil in many communities in South Asia.

Eve teasing has become a particularly disturbing social evil in many communities in South Asia. In parts of Bangladesh, girls, and sometimes entire families have known to commit suicide to escape the social stigma associated with eve teasing. It has been reported by the National Crimes Record Bureau that some 200,000 incidents of female sexual harassment were reported in 2008 with about 400 of them being in Delhi alone. In the past few months more than a dozen women have been known to commit suicide in Bangladesh after having been subjected to eve teasing. It is safe to say that the safeguards needed to protect women from being subjected to sexual harassment are largely nonexistent.

"Eve teasing" includes the entire spectrum of methods employed to harass women in public places. The definition does not include only the extreme case of rape but all forms of sexual humiliation which could mean just some provocative remark, indecent posturing in a public area towards women or physical assault. Groping and manhandling of women in public places is an oft repeated crime in small south Asian communities which goes largely unremarked. The reasons behind the occurrence of eve teasing are manifold. The harassment, since it is usually carried out by individuals associated with powerful underground gangs better known as mafia in South Asia is met with little resistance by the members of the community.

The fear that these local gangs inspire amongst the local people provides them the immunity to assault women without fear of retaliation from the community. The fact that there is an absence of a precise definition of what constitutes harassment means that in many cases the victims are afraid of going to the concerned authorities thinking that they don't have a strong case until it is too late to do much about it.

The absence of punishment that coincides with the level of assault that has taken place further impedes effective decision making. Red tape that results in cases being buried for many years before they are bought up, high lawyers' fees as well as the fact that perpetrators do, and more importantly have the power and means to claim in court that the act was consensual and not forced further prevent the victim's family members from raising a voice and asking for justice.

The lax behavior of law enforcement agencies also plays an indirect role in that it sets the precedent that people who commit crimes will most likely not be held accountable for their actions. Weak law enforcement institutions therefore worsen the plight of women as they cannot provide safeguards that prevent the occurrence of crime against women. But the main reason why some individuals or some families are targeted and not others is due to the balance of social, economic and political power not being in their favor.

This social malaise has a particular disruptive impact on society leaving families irrevocably scarred for life in most cases. Girls' schools are shut down due to poor attendance as the parents have no way of ensuring the safety of their womenfolk except by keeping them indoors. Class schedules are disrupted and exams are delayed. Considerable anxiety is suffered by the relatives of the female being molested due to the social stigma associated with the harassment as it opens the family up for public ridicule.

The psychological pressure suffered by the victim and the family members due to loss of reputation has driven families to abandon their villages and communities and start over. Since they themselves cannot provide any failsafe safeguards many parents in South Asia have resorted and continue to resort to the method of getting daughters married at a very early age thereby transferring the responsibility to the groom's family.

Active participation by the members of the civil society is the best long term solution to end this social evil. Safeguards can be successful only if the members of the community decide to personally ensure that they are upheld. The employment in Dhaka of female police keepers is a positive step worthy of mention since in many communities the prevalent social customs forbid women from any kind of involvement with men. However a female police force can overcome this social barrier and the victim herself would find it more comfortable to talk about her plight with a woman.

In some cities including Delhi, groups that teach self defense have been started in which women are taught how to protect themselves from physical assault. Institutionalization of this process on a national as well as regional level will help create a broad based network that provides assistance to women. Effective law making passed in this regard will also play a significant role in reversing the common perception that the perpetrator shall not be held accountable for his actions thereby dealing with the root of the matter.

But undoubtedly more needs to be done for the protection of the South Asian women. This entails involvement not only by the government authorities but also by NGOs and human rights organizations. Laws at the official administrative level have not been implemented regarding eve teasing and it is necessary. At the core of the problem is the attitude of men towards women in these communities and programs at the grass root level that deal with correcting the mentality that encourages men to look upon women as an object of sexual gratification would be a good long term step in dealing with the issue.