Relief International has successfully organized a Radio Talk Show on “Eve Teasing and Sexual Harassment”, which is a part of the activities to be carried out for the “Transparency for Human Rights in Bangladesh “ program.

The radio talk show was held on 25 th November 2010 on occassion of the International day for Elimination of Violence against Women. Ms. Tahmina Huq, Deputy Programme Manager ,Women's Rights and Gender Equality Sector of Action Aid Bangladesh and Saikh Imtiaz, Associate Professor,  Department of Gender and Women Studies of the University of Dhaka were the Guest speakers at the event.The sessions were moderated by Jinat Ara Haque, National Coordinator, WE CAN SECRETARIAT ,  WE CAN Alliance to End Domestic Violence in Bangladesh.

Ms. Jinat began the program by discussing the various forms of injustices and harassment women have to face due to mass gender description, and also by questioning the appropriateness of the term “Eve teasing” to describe the various forms of harassment most women in Bangladesh face. Ms. Tahmina and Mr. Imtiaj both agreed that these terms are too light and fail to represent the magnitude of the level harassment that women have to face, and that teasing women should be considered a criminal offense in itself. The discussion highlighted the cause of rampant sexual harassment to be the attitude of society towards women, where they are considered to be inferior to men and thus allowing men to use force to dominate women. Both speakers strongly stated that movies, shows and other forms of media which portray men as heroic when they employ force to win the admiration of women play a major role in misleading men and reinforcing their misconception that men are entitled to have whatever they desire.

The speakers and the moderator both lauded the efforts of the government and the media for recognizing harassment of women as a crime and for shedding light on the problem in front of the nation. They strongly urged the government to ensure prompt action in dealing with stalkers, and highlighted the necessity of more severe punishment required for the perpetrators. Prompt and strict punishments are imperative for curbing the crimes, they said.

The discussion also considered the role that society and all other stakeholders can play in alleviating this problem. Families, educational institutions, workplaces, and all other stakeholders need to alter their attitude towards women and attribute them the same amount of respect as men. Mobilization of the entire community is necessary if women are to be freed from the constant harassment they endure in their everyday lives.

The show ended by marking eve teasing and sexual harassment as a problem for society as a whole, not just females. Guest speakers and the moderators ended the show with hopes of stricter policies and severe punishments for stalkers and eve teasers.

To listen to the recorded version of the radio talk show, Download.