Eve-Teasing Threatens Women In India and Bangladesh

Following the suicides of a young woman in Bangladesh in January and an Indian college student near Chennai in February, it seems these two countries might want to start rethinking their lax policies towards eve-teasing. Both students' deaths have been linked to shame caused by eve-teasing; the women, harassed and humiliated by men, apparently felt they had no recourse but to kill themselves.

The term "eve-teasing" refers to the sexual harassment of women in a bizarrely innocuous way -- the women are "eves," the original temptresses leading men to sin, and therefore men "tease" them.  Never mind that "teasing" often refers to the blatant groping of women in public, stalking women, incessantly verbally harassing them and calling them sluts, and in extreme cases, throwing acid and/or exacting violence against them.

This is particularly a problem in India, where every 26 minutes a woman is molested and every 34 minutes a woman is raped.  New Dehli is now the "rape capital" of South Asia. Eve-teasing is such a ubiquitous practice that signs actually prohibit it, the same way a sign might prohibit, say, littering or drinking in public, and commercials warn against it.

While legislation exists in theory to deter eve teasers, it really does little more than victim-blame. The Indian Penal Code characterizes any act which "insults" or "outrages" a woman's modesty as punishable by law (the maximum offense being a year in jail). Of course, this leaves the door wide open to point the finger at any woman not "modest" enough to fall under the law's protection. Rape and harassment victims are frequently blamed for walking alone, wearing "immodest" clothing, or having male companions. A case in point: Indian authorities recently blamed the rape of a 9-year-old girl in Goa on western tourists' bikinis.

Blank Noise is an Indian community and public art project which aims to combat eve-teasing. The group stages public protests and performances, such as collecting the stories of sexual harassment victims and posting them in public places. The organization encourages women to report harassment and to share their stories in an effort to fight against the bureaucratic, political and social stifling of eve-teasing.  To help out Blank Noise, join their Facebook group, donate, report harassment against you or someone you know, and/or volunteer.

Photo: Carol Mitchell's Photostream