I’m so pleased to hear that UNICEF is tackling the huge problem of eve teasing/street harassment in Bangladesh!
Recently they helped organize more than 600 people for a rally in the Narsingdi district of Bangladesh to speak out against eve teasing. With local groups they helped organize parents, community members and adolescents in Narsingdi for a motivational workshop aimed at protecting adolescent girls. UNICEF and its partners also are working to create awareness by establishing and supporting local adolescent groups called ‘Kishori Clubs’. The clubs allow girls and boys to learn to socialize in positive ways and they participate in activities that empower them to become agents of change.
(Watch the YouTube video of the march and Kishori Club)
“At the workshop in Narsingdi, adolescents from a local Kishori group presented a play that explored the negative impact of Eve teasing and suggested ways to prevent it. The powerful performance reflected the strong opinions of the young people involved.
”I have a friend. A boy used to tease her,” explained performer and Kishori Club member Marzahan, 13. “But after we staged this play at our school, the boy began to understand. Our teachers also taught him about the damage that Eve teasing can cause. Now he is friendly to everybody and he doesn’t tease any girls anymore.”
Shohagh, 13, another club member, is among the boys who believe the time has come to take action on Eve teasing. “Girls need to have access to education and be able to live healthy lives,” he said. “They should be able to enjoy their rights.”
Fantastic. I love how they are taking a preventative angle rather than just telling girls to not go out at night or to ignore harassers. That doesn’t work, but education, dialogue, and prevention do.
12.14.10: Here’s another news story about this problem that looks at it across the past year.
Nazrul Islam says
Excellent effort. We all should come forward to combat the social menace like eve teasing breaking out in epidemic form recently in Bangladesh. I think tough laws and its complete execution should be made in one hand and public awareness program against this disease should be thrown on the other.
Finally I think the term ‘eve teasing’ should be replaced by ‘Romeo Crime’ and the eve teaser be termed as ‘Romeo’. In Bengali ‘Bakhate Oporad’ and teaser be ‘Bakhate’. There should compose dramas, short films etc. against this crime depicting the teasers as most hated, abandoned, boycotted and detrimental to society and progress for creating awareness. We cannot avert the responsibility of those who were forced to commit suicide tragically.
Rafizul Islam says
Sexual harassment, often known as “eve teasing”, is a regular occurrence for the women and girls of Bangladesh. It is a traumatic experience which can leave deep psychological scars and has negative consequences for the greater community. Parents, who are concerned about their daughter’s honor or safety, sometimes keep them home from school and/or marry them off at an early age. While Bangladesh has declared sexual harassment illegal, state interventions have been inadequate in stopping it to date. The Hunger Project has teamed with many other NGOs to promote National Girl Child Day in order to awaken Bangledeshi citizens to the critical importance of providing better health, education and nutrition to girls as the highest leverage investment for the future of the economy.
Mr. Amin says
In gov, primary School , Girl Child sexually harassment by their teacher Its true incident happen in Bangladesh .
Now time to think stop this , action against them as early as possible
Ibne Zaman says
Every conscious citizen, specially young citizens of Bangladesh should come forward to cooperate UNICEF and other organization, government concerned department for combating the severe problem of Sexual harassment like-eve teasing.
We should never say” Eve Teasing” but ” Sexual Harassment”.
Thanks
Ibne Zaman
Bangladesh Parents Society
Dhaka