Our country is used to the male species making supposedly innocent comments to obscene gestures, and whistling at women in public. Most women pretend like it never happened.
What may seem like a harmless act marks the beginning of a potentially dangerous series of harassment towards women.
There are countless stories of girls and women who are horrified at the idea of passing by a certain street corner because of being gawked at by a group of men. “When I was younger, I used to wear the tightest t-shirt underneath my baggy sweaters so people did not stare at my chest,” says Rima.
Eve-teasing (or street harassment) is a term commonly used in South Asia for public harassment or molestation of women by men. It is a form of sexual aggression that ranges from catcalls, to suggestive sexual remarks to touching and groping in public.
A disturbing aspect of the term ‘eve-teasing’ is that it puts the blame on the women who are called ‘eve’ as the temptress. Some men might as well say, if women did not exist, this would not happen therefore it is women’s fault. These violations are very hard to prove and are difficult for most women to vocalise.
“When I was 15, my best friend and I were on our way to the movies when this well-dressed middle aged man passed by us and pinched her chest,” recalls 23-year-old Rita. “She looked at my face, then looked down on the ground and shut her eyes as she squeezed my hand. We did not talk.”
This is the truth that many women in South Asia live every day. Many cultures and societies believe that eve-teasing happens because of the women who tease and tempt men, because clearly men have no control over their desires.
Bollywood movies show eve teasing as a harmless beginning of a courtship or the moment before the woman gets raped. We all know of ‘India’s Daughter’- one incident that highlighted the extremes of sexual harassment women have to experience that may result in death.