Introduction The term 'eve-teasing' has gone farthest from its denotation in recent times in Bangladesh.

Doing it was just about excusable in the past. But the proportions it has assumed these days must make it be renamed. It easily amounts to sexual harassment. Even the court sees eye to eye with this. Recently the high court returned a verdict with regard to calling 'eve-teasing' 'sexual harassment'. As a matter of fact, what we are used to calling 'eve-teasing' no longer means "to laugh at or make jokes about somebody in order to annoy or embarrass them". Rather it starts with provoking the girls in an unkind way, and may end in forcing them even to suicide. Recently, however, another dimension has been added to it. The ones who put up a resistance to the crazy tease are also being avenged to death.

Bangladesh, a small and developing country, is beset with multiple problems. Among them, eveteasing, nowadays, has become a talk of the country owing to its injurious effects on women, especially to the teen aged girls. It's obvious that no conscious citizen of our country is unacquainted with this problem created by evil-doers. Whenever, we put our eyes on daily newspapers, we find the news of suicide of any school or college going girl which is the outcome of eve-teasing.
Definition Eve teasing is normally meant as teasing a girl or woman, refers to public sexual harassment or street harassment to a girl by a boy, when it turns into a serious issue. Eve teasing is a very common term in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan.

Eve Teasing is a term which usually involves young men annoying or disquieting girls or women by making sexual innuendos against them in public or in work places. Eve teasing refers to any act that upsets the modesty of women while in the US it is any act that is sexual in nature including gestures, words and acts that are unwelcome. Sexual harassment qualifies as an illegal form of discrimination against women in direct violation of a human right. Eve teasing is a euphemism used in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan for public sexual harassment, street harassment or molestation of women by men. People found the term Eve Teasing to substitute the erotic term sexual harassment. Eve is believed to be the first woman created by the Almighty and all women are the descendants of her and thus generically could be called Eve. So, teasing a woman is called eve teasing

Legal definition of eve teasing Eve teasing is one kind of sexual offence. as per Sec. 509 of the Penal Code, eve teasing contain intention to insult the modesty of any women;

 

uttering any words, making any sound or gesture; exhibition of any object intending that such word or sound shall be hard or such gesture or object shall be seen by such women; Intrudes upon the privacy of such women.

According to Section 76 of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ordinance (DMPO) of 1976 defines women teasing as, willful and indecent exposure of one s person in any street or public place within sight of, and in such manner as may be seen by, any woman, whether from within any house or building or not, or willful pressing or obstructing any woman in a street or public place or insulting or annoying any woman by using indecent language or making indecent sounds, gestures, or remarks in any street or public place In section 10(2), the law defines sexual harassment as, if a man, with a view to fulfilling his illegal sexual desire outrage a woman s modesty or makes erotic gesture, such act of the man will amount to sexual harassment

Origin of eve teasing Although the term eve teasing originates from India, in recent times, this vice has spread over all the sub-continental countries. the problem received public and media attention in 1960s it was in the following decades, when more and more women started going out to colleges and work independently, which means they are often no longer accompanied by a male escort as had been a norm in traditional society, that the problem grew to an alarming proportion

Eve teasing was not that acute problem in Bangladesh till 1980s. However, from 1980s, when girls and women, especially at rural areas started going out for education and employment at a large scale, eve teasing with its sharp jaws has started to pollute our social fabric.

In post-independent Bangladesh the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ordinance (DMPO) of 1976 first addressed the women teasing directly. This is for the first time, in Bangladesh, an act other than the Penal Code addressed the teasing offence against women. However, the term eve teasing is still not used.

Types of eve teasing The place where they have teased Generally girls are teased almost every public places, even their balcony, and also their roof. There are many public places where girl are being teased, like 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Road side Bus stoppage Bus Market & shopping mall Park Educational institute

Types of eve teasing girl faced Basically three types of eve teasing they faced. 1. Verbal (comments, whistling 2. Physical (touching, feeling up 3. Visual (staring, leering, gesticulating

Eve teasing beings as an attempt to irritate a girl or catch her attention A lewd stare, a sly whistle, a well-timed lap, an unwarranted bump, a seemingly causal touch, a lingering look at a vulnerable time, the humming of suggestive song, passing downright uncouth comments, cheap gestures, display of indecent snaps or videos, giving unwelcome call or missed call , sending indecent text all these are typical examples of eve teasing. Eve-teasing on mobile. Sexual harassment by internet

Who is eve-teaser? Now-a-days Eve-teasing has become intolerable. The harassment can take a variety of forms and the perpetrators come from multiple walk of life. They are rich and poor, educated and uneducated. According to Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association (BNWLA) the Eve-teasers are may be:

a. teenage boys b. rickshaw pullers c. bus drivers d. street vendors e. traffic vendors f. often supervisors or colleagues of the working women And it is a matter of great regret that, now-a-days some educated and well-known boys are also enjoying the way of eve-teasing.

PRESENT CONDITION OF EVE TEASING IN BANGLADESH: in Bangladesh, almost 90% of girls aged 10-18 are victims of public sexual harassment, according to the Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association. Most cases of sexual harassment are unreported and unpunished due to the young girls fear of further physical and sexual harm, being socially rebuked, or becoming the subject of local social gossip. Eve teasing is rising both in number, recklessness and ferocity. Parents and guardians are passing days in great anxiety for the safety and well-being of the young women under their charge. Civilized life and living in the country is being challenged by the depraved and brutal behavior of eve teasing. Figures released by the Ain-O-Salish Kendra (ASK) human rights organization reveal that 62% of the school girls become victims of eve teasing. According to the information of Mohila Porishad eve teasing has increase by 39.6% compared to the last year. Cases of eve teasing are shooting up alarmingly. Apart from suicide, one statistics has revealed that during January-July 2010 period only, about 13,000 women became victims of eve teasing of different forms across the country. This figure counted only the reported cases. Many occurrences remain unreported as the majority of the victims of eve teasing prefer to ignore this out of fear or not to be disgraced or part of a social gossip. The situation has become so alarming that, in general, it can be argued that at present no girl has been spared from being a victim of eve teasing in one from to another. In recent days, some who have spoken out against sexual harassment have been murdered. A 50year- old women died after a motorcycle was driven over her when she protested against the bullying of her daughter last week. A college teacher who spoke out against such bullying was also murdered. Everywhere the pattern is the same. Simi of Charukola, Fahima of Mirpur, and

many other girls students, workers and slum dwellers were found to have been preyed upon by depraved and brutalized males while the state society took all for granted, as it were.

These days, many girls have committed suicide only to safe themselves from eve-teasing. That means, eve-teasing in Bangladesh has reached its maximum range. This is against the women rights without any doubt. Those who are involved with this kind of embarrass stuff can be named as a terrorist. The teasers wait in schools, colleges or outside the house gate and as soon as girls walk passed by them they start teasing with ribald comments, smutty jokes, coarse laughter, sly whistles and even indecent exposure. According to a daily newspaper, two girl committed suicide only in October 2010. In the last 7 months there 4 girls were killed and 42 were injured. Well, this is just a ruff measurement, which came across the peoples attention. There happened many occurrences like this, which were not published in the newspaper. In most of the cases, the victims shy to exposes these incidents.

The country is moving forward day by day. But eve-teasing is spreading like an epidemic throughout the country. A recent study by the Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association (BNWLA) showed that almost 90 percent girls aged between 10 and 18 have this experience. Trisha, Pinky, Elora are some of the victims of eve-teasing. In the year 2010 till November 14, some 20 girls committed suicide due to eve-teasing. It is found in a media report that about 13,000 women became victims of harassment and violence across the country during JanuaryJuly, 2008

Case study Many accidents occurred as a result of eve teasing. Some accidents which occurred in the year 2010 are given bellowAccording to the posted report on 28 April 2010, womans dead body recovered in Madaripur. The police recovered a dead body from a pond in Madaripur on Tuesday. On 21 April 2010 Chunarughat police in Habiganj on Monday night rescued an 11-year-old who was kidnapped. Posted on 21 April 2010

Dhaka, Apr 19 RAB helped organize a local arbitration as a way of entrapping four men, accused of raping a teenager. Posted on 19 April 2010 Acid thrown on woman over land dispute Madaripur, Apr 17 Miscreants have thrown acid on a woman at Morelkandi village under Kutubpur Union of Shibchar upazila in Madaripur on Friday night. Posted on 19 April 2010 Housewife murdered for dowry in Chuadanga A housewife was killed allegedly by her husband and in-laws over dowry at Buropara village in Alamdanga upazila of Chuadanga Friday night. Posted on 19 April 2010 School teacher killed by husband A man allegedly strangulated his wife to death at the citys Hazaribagh on Saturday while police recovered two bodies from Jatrabari area yesterday. Posted on 17 April 2010 College girl commits suicide in Chuadanga A college student committed suicide in Cinema hall area of Chuadanga district town on Thursday night. Posted on 17 April 2010 Two JU teachers charged with sexual harassment A woman teacher of international relations at Jahangirnagar University on Thursday lodged a complaint with the Posted on 17 April 2010 Rally against harassment of female students in DU The Rover Scouts of Dhaka University staged a rally on Friday on the campus to protest against the harassment of girls. Several hundred scouts from all over the city joined the rally. Posted on 14 April 2010

The reports on a 16 year old schoolgirls suicide stated that Police strangely claim she committed suicide. Whereas the victims mother claims that prior to her daughters death she had identified and accused a 24 year old man (one whose unwanted proposals had been turned down) of pouring kerosene on her, striking a match. Posted on 14 April 2010 Brammanbaria, Apr 12 A husband has killed his wife at Budhunti village of Bijoynagar upazila on Monday morning. Posted on 14 April 2010 Sylhet, Apr 12 A first year female student of computer science and engineering of Shahjalal University of Engineering and Technology of Sylhet committed suicide on Monday dawn. The dead, Sayma Sultana Ani, of Trishal upazila in Mymensingh, was a year-first student. Her father works at Fenchuganj Fertiliser Factory. It could not be ascertained why she suicide? Posted on 10 April 2010 Her actress daughter hurt in attack. The mother of a film actress was killed and actress Lata severely injured in an attack by Latas ex-husband and his associates on Thursday night in Savar.

The tragic story of 13-year-old Nashfia Akhand Pinky - known as Pinky - shows just how damaging "Eve teasing" can be. Pinky was a ninth-grade student of a school only half a kilometre away from where she lived with her uncle in central Dhaka. On her way to school, she was stalked by her 22-year-old male neighbour and some of his friends who, according to her family, persisted with "ribald comments, smutty jokes, coarse laughter, sly whistles and even indecent exposure".

The neighbour is alleged to have been stalking her for several months. On 19 January, she went out of her house to buy some medicine for a niggling hand injury. The neighbour and his friends blocked her way and made suggestive remarks. She became angry and protested. After that, he became more aggressive and bombarded her with crude language, pulling off her scarf and slapping her face. Pinky fell down on the street under a barrage of blows. Some neighbours apparently saw the incident yet did not try to stop it or protest against it.
She could not tolerate the insult of it. "So she hanged herself with a sari scarf tied to a ceiling fan in her drawing room. Pinky s suicide note "When [my tormentor] pulled my scarf and harassed me physically in front of the house, onlookers at the scene laughed. Nobody protested. None of my family members are responsible for my suicide."

Cause and impact

What causes eve teasing: As the days going on, some social issues are becoming more and more dangerous. From load shedding to price hiking, crimes to calamities our country is going to change its usual nature. But the matter of fact that pained me to write this article is eve teasing Some people considered it as a newly formed social issues. But the actual reality is its not a new problem here in Bangladesh. From the originate of society there are many discrimination between different gender. But the people actually the male has a nature or habit of insulting female. May be it hurts the readers who read this article specially the male readers but it is a true fact that this is a shame of being a male person here in BD. So, let me give you common reason of eve teasing. 1.Having a strong attraction to opposite sex. It is only granted for male people. 2.Giving less importance on gender discrimination problem. 3.Failing to educating girls. Its mean inadequate scope for female education. 4.Destruction of our social values. Respecting others, helping others and among them the way of showing love.

5.Last but not the lest, our sense or thoughts towards women. May be there are also many issues that works behind eve teasing, so I can use etc. But its till a shame for us A large part of young generation has gone at the verge of astray now a days. Following might be the probably causes behind this suffocation situation for the whole civilization:
y y y y y y y y y y

Exotic culture achieved from abroad. Depression Lack of social and family Bad associations dominating mentality over the physically weaker sex Satellite and mobile culture political involvement and abuse of power Detachment from the family Ignorant and defying of the law Lack of Respect upon the opposite sex

y Some in society posses an extremely restricted mentality and also tend to be overly conservative on sexuality and thus cannot mix with women freely. This type of mentality also provoke eve teasing sometimes. Some boys argue that at times girls dress in a stimulating manner that they themselves draw males attention[28].. y People are not much educated which is also a reason for eve teasing. y Some also feel that if children are not brought up on the light of religion and have a free exposure to modern fashion, they are bound to lose way of seriousness and moral values. Thus they consider eve teasing as fun not offence. y Lack of law enforcement agencies awareness is also a reason for eve teasing as they are not serious about this matter. y The problem also lies with the conservative set up of the society. Education, family rearing and way of living are some of the factors that influence everybodys mind. It is shown that if a girl is too smart and fashionable, boys tend to do such activities often out of frustration. Undue limitations and isolation from girls also give birth to sexual dissatisfaction and thus sort of aggression

Effects of Eve-teasing: The effects or impacts of eve-teasing are given below:

1. Increases girls dropout rate from school: Sexual harassment increases girls dropout rate from school. Parents concerned about their daughters honor or safety sometimes keep their daughters home or marry them off at an early age. Education is the key to improving the standard of living in a society. 2. Early marriage: Girls who are teased or harassed are also pushed into marriage before they are physically or mentally prepared. Haf of Bangladesh girls are married before they reach 15 years old, and they usually bear their first child while they are still teenagers. 3. Hindered development: Eve-teasing contributes to maintaining the law status of women. It also hiders women in participating in the formal employment sector As nearly half of the population of the country are women, for the economic development of the country their participation in employment is a must. 4. Commit to suicide: Sexual harassment or eve-teasing are so poorly drafted that victims get virtually no help from the low enforcement agencies. Families of the victim are left feeling hopeless and helpless. And then some victims find suicide is the only avenue that enables them to escape this social pandemic. 5. Give Rise To Mental Pressure: Because of sexual harassment or eve-teasing the girls and women are deprive of their rights and duties. They can not walk feely at their workplace. They have to face many obstacles to their workplace of school, colleges or universities. As a result they are always in a mental pressure. 6. Socio-economic insecurity: At present, girls and women are the victim of socio-economic insecurity. In our country they have no social security.

Eve teasing : Where women s empowerment stuck Eve-teasing has a great negative influence over the family, society and of course the country. The demerits of eve-teasing are very clear to us. Many girls are committing suicide to save them from the teasers. This is not only frightening but threatening as well. Recently one Mother was killed to save her daughter from the eve-teasers. This is a real shame. Many of Girls are feeling insecure to go the schools. As a result, the parents are not allowing the girls to go to school or even outside of home. This is how the drop-out rate of female students is increasing day by day. Not only this, the victim girl may lose his

mental balance. In most cases, girls are letting married in an early age. This underage marriage problem is also increasing by this eve-teasing problem. The guardians assuming, their daughter will be safe and fine with her husband. Basically the rate of illiterate people is high in Bangladesh. This illiteracy is a curse in this modern era. The female illiteracy is higher too. In this case, if this eve-teasing problem exists for a long time, Bangladesh will let down from worse to worst in terms of female education. If the girls are getting married in an early age, they will probably having more babies, which will make the population problem destructive. So in a sense, it can be said that Eve-teasing may create more problems beyond our expectation. The eve teasers are becoming more dangerous. They are willingly doing all these and asking hazards in society. They seemed to be committed of doing anything they want in the sake of their wish. These young teasers are turning out to be a terrorist in the coming days.

Eve teasing leads to commit suicide and killing

Sexual harassment and stalking of women causes a number of suicides and killings related to the issue in recent times. Activists say more than 24 people, most of them young girls; have died because of bullying and harassment since the beginning of this year. In recent times, some of those who spoke out against sexual harassment have been murdered, causing public outrage. A 50-year-old woman died after a motorcycle was driven over her when she protested against the bullying of her daughter last week. A college teacher who spoke against bullying was also murdered. The killings led to a series of protests across the country. a father and a daughter also committed suicide together in an incident blamed by the authorities on eve teasing According to figures released by the Ain-O-Shalish Kendra (ASK) human rights organisation, 14 girls and women have taken their own lives over the past four months across the country as a direct result of the insults. Laws against eve teasing in Bangladesh the Government has enacted laws specifically prohibiting certain forms of discrimination against women, including the Anti-Dowry Prohibition Act of 1960, 1973,1980,1983,1995, 2000.

However, enforcement of these laws is weak, especially in rural areas, and the Government seldom prosecutes those cases that are filed.

State intervention towards preventing aggression against women has been inadequate till now. As eve teasing does not involve any physical harassment the law refuses to recognize it as a cruel act. Laws are there but enforcement is weak. Moreover, the legal process to fight gender-based violence is complicated. In Women and Children Repression and Prevention Act 2000 an excellent provision was included in section article 10 that teasing of women like making obscene comments or gestures was an offence covered by it providing for up to seven years of simple imprisonment or meticulous imprisonment for two years[12]. But the act was amended in 2003 where no one could be charged with sexual abuse of a woman until it is physical[13]. And thus those who bother/tease women in public places such as streets, shopping places and buses can no longer be tied under this law. Defending the amendment, the government has said the provision had been abused to harass rivals[14]. The change has come when harassment of women has increased in Bangladesh. But one can enforce her right under section 509 of the Penal code where it is clearly stated that if anybody intending to insult the modesty of any women, utters any word, make any sound or gesture or exhibits any object, intending that such word or sound shall be heard, or that such gesture or object shall be seen, by such women, or intrudes upon the privacy of such women, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine or with both[15]. Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association (BNWLA) filed a Writ Petition (No. 5916 of 2008) to the High Court Division. The Honorable Court, after examining the pros and cons of the problem issued their Judgment on 14.5.2009 giving the government an eleven-point directive which will fill up the legislative vacuum in the nature of law. In these directives the Court suggested a detailed definition of sexual harassment that included all other existing definitions of non-contract sexually connoting offences. It also incorporated the modern means of erotic insults against the women that are prevalent in our present age of information technology.
Empowerment of mobile court Mobile courts in Bangladesh have been empowered to prosecute people accused of sexually harassing women, or eve teasing, officials have said, anyone convicted of sexual harassment or stalking of women will face a year in jail or a fine of about 70 dollars or both. Now the government hopes mobile courts can dispose of the cases quickly and that the punishments they hand out will act as a deterrent to others. Mobile courts all across the country will be trying these cases. District officials can form mobile courts whenever they think it is necessary. Punishment of eve teasing Mobile Court Act 2009" empowering the mobile courts to try offenders of stalking girls or women summarily. Anyone convicted of sexual harassment or stalking of women will face a year in jail or a fine of about $70 or both.

According to Sec.509 of the Penal Code,1860 the punishment of Eve-teasing shall be a simple imprisonment for a term which may extend one year or with fine or both.

In section 10(2), the law defines sexual harassment A rigorous imprisonment ranging from 2 to 7 years and additionally an indefinite amount of fine is rewarded for this offence. According to this definition sexual harassment is an offence that is committed by not coming with actual physical contract to the victim. the section 10(2) was abrogated when the law was last amended in 2003. A new provision has been added under section 9(ka) of the present law that states, if a woman is forced to commit suicide as a direct consequence of somebody s willful dishonor/sexual harassment/assault, then the offender will be liable to a maximum of ten years and a minimum of five years of imprisonment.

Enactment of eve teasing protection day Education ministry in Bangladesh had designated 13 June, 2010 as Eve Teasing Protection Day.15 The announcement reflects increasing concern over the worrying number of girls and women who have recently committed suicide in the country to escape eve teasing. Recently, the government is planning to introduce a strict law against eve teasing. No doubt, this is a timely step to move forward. These steps will only be successful when our attitude will change. The attitude of the male has to be changed if this menace has to be eradicated. A general respect for the female gender will go a long way in building a healthy society

School-campaign against eve teasing Different school, college, universities are taking different social movement against the eve teasing. Different NGOs, human right organizations and cultural organizations taking different kind of steps to prevent eve teasing. They perform street show to make people aware and raise their voice against the eve teasing.

Obstacles to stop eve teasing 1. Absence of proper laws of eve teasing prevention 2. Poor enforcement of laws 3. Eve teasers in notable number enjoy political shelter or patronization which gives them a feeling of impurity. 4. Mainly eve teasers are unknown 5. Teasers basically teased alone girls 6. Few girls protest against eve teasing as they are worried about future steps 7. Few girls are known about the laws that applied for eve teasing 8. Mobile and internet has opened a new era of eve teasing

Recommendation

y Protecting and establishing human rights, strengthening rural governance and ensuring gender parity could be the effective tools for eliminating the social curse. y Only the law enforcing agencies or any single organization is not capable to combat the crimes but a determined effort is a must in this regard. y Education system must be deliberated in a way as to promote positive relationship between girls and boys, especially at a younger age. y Parents role is very significant. They should keep their children away from bad influences. Parents must educate their children what to or what not to do/watch. They should adopt friendly relations with their children rather than being harsh with them. y Teachers must play their role to repeat moral teachings in the young minds in a more rational and modern way. y The girl should not ignore the teasing of eve teasers and should not bother about what people would say or think of her if she gives objection to such activities. They should protest strongly against such boys otherwise nobody can do anything against such eve teasers[29]. Girls should not lose courage in this regard. y Family and the neighborhood must support a girl in this regard

CONCLUSION: In a country where the prime minister, foreign minister, home minister, agriculture minister, deputy leader of the House and the leader of the opposition are female, It is very hard to believe that in that country women and girls cannot walk on the streets, use public transport, or go to school, shops, parks or other public places without often being ogled, taunted, harassed, humiliated, sexually molested, groped and assaulted and in some cases, attacked with acid,

abducted and raped. The situation is very frightening. The suicide of 20 girls within 1 year is an alarming sign of the times. If it is not controlled, the women can no longer live in society with any dignity. Government is recently taking some steps but proper implementation of those steps is required. Framing appropriate law to combat the ever-growing eve teasing is yet to be done. Committees are being formed in the institutions to protects the women attached to the institutions and punishment will be imposed on the persons inside the institutions, but the street Romeos, who commit their offence outside the institutions are still remain outside expected legal net. So, the enactment of an appropriate law to address eve teasing to cover the whole gamut of the problem is an unavoidable urgency. We have to mend up the society we inhabit infusing more civilized norms, preaching through education and collective exercise in practical life. After doing all of this we can expect significant decrease in the number of suicides women are committing because of eve teasing

Bibliography 1. http://www.lawyersnjurists.com/resource/articles-and-assignment/eve-teasing-leads-to-youngwomen%E2%80%99s-suicide-in-bangladesh/ 2. http://www.lawyersnjurists.com/resource/articles-and-assignment/eve-teasing-is-verycommon-social-problem-and-every-day-women-come-across-some-form-of-eve-teasing-in-thiscase-do-you-think-that-women-should-be-empowered-to-fight-back-due-to-end-this-evil-act-2/ 3. http://www.lawyersnjurists.com/resource/articles-and-assignment/government-has-recentlypassed-a-law-against-eve-teasing-how-much-the-law-is-effective-for-a-developing-country-likebangladesh/ 4. http://www.lawyersnjurists.com/resource/articles-and-assignment/eve-teasing-in-bangladesh3/ 5. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11728027 6. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10220920 7. http://www.docstoc.com/docs/74439239/eve-teasing 8. The penal code, 1860.