In late August 2016, Risha, a 14-year old eighth grader at Willes Little Flower School, was attacked in broad daylight with a knife by an assailant as she was leaving the school premises.
Her death, three days later, sparked protests from her schoolmates, teachers, and parents -- and with time, the anger receded and, like many such tragedies, was overtaken by other news.
The present study was prompted by that tragic event and the circumstances that led to the murder of Risha, who was harassed by the assistant of a tailor on the phone for a while before the fatal attack.
As we studied the tragedy, we speculated on different ways to prevent it. Risha is only the tip of the iceberg in the long list of incidencts of sexual harassment in Bangladesh.
At one level, it was a case of an irate young man who could have been dealt with, had complaints been made to the police and had there been a trust in police to take appropriate action swiftly and robustly.
With all these questions in mind, we decided to conduct an online study on sexual harassment. 300 questionnaires were sent out to young women selected purposely from acquaintances online with promises of full anonymity.
Clearly, the samples are not representative of the young female population in Bangladesh, and represented a segment of broadly middle class, educated women.
With this caveat, we analysed 200 or so responses that we received -- some with detailed narratives of their experiences. The majority of our respondents (95%) were university students. The average age of our respondents was 23, and 88% of our respondents claimed to have been harassed in one form or other.
Fifteen percent of our respondents experienced sexual harassment, and another 17.5% experienced physical harassment, and 36% were subjected to bullying. The percentage of “eve teasing” was 5%.
Close to 45% of the incidents of harassment took place in public places, 9% were harassed on the phone, and another 9% harassed online.
When it came to reporting or complaining about the incidences of harassment, we found a conspiracy of silence produced by a culture where a young woman does not openly discuss such harassment lest she lose face.
This is clearly a result of the gender inequality that Bangladeshi women suffer from. 15% of our respondents did not discuss their experience with anyone else. A majority of the 85% of those who had discussed had confided in their friends, and only 25% had discussed with their parents.
Why did they not report their experiences to the police or to other family members? Some were afraid that their family members would blame them.
Some were embarrassed to talk about it. Others wanted to, but did not because they were afraid of being judged by others as different.
One respondent was raped by someone she said was a “so-called religious teacher.” She did not report it to anyone lest her family reputation becomes compromised. “I was also afraid that my family might abandon me if they hear about it.”
When it came to reporting or complaining about the incidences of harassment, we found a conspiracy of silence
The respondent, now proficient in karate, is waiting to avenge the perpetrator.
About 95% of the respondents did not report to the police for a variety of reasons. Some preferred to deal with it privately, outside the bounds of law with the help of family members.
One respondent said: “I solved an incident of harassment in a bus by slapping the culprit.” Others did not report incidents because it might have tarnished the “prestige” of the family.
And when the harasser is a family member or someone known, she would not think of complaints to avoid “shame.” About 10% of our respondents were harassed at home, and 14% in educational institutions.
What can be done to reduce the evil of sexual harassment in Bangladesh?
A more open discussion about the incidents will help, which must begin with reassuring girls that they are persons with rights to their own bodies and privacy of physical space, and any infringement or violation of her rights must be dealt with appropriately.
Our findings corroborate the issue of victimhood as well. A national survey for the BALIKA project of Population Council in 2013 conducted by Sajeda Amin et al reported that 35% women agreed that “if a woman is raped, it is her fault.”
BALIKA study revealed that 49.6% of respondents agreed that “a woman deserves to be beaten in some instances.” Such norms must change.
A woman must be reassured of her rights and that she must not be made to feel vulnerable. The police must launch a campaign of public awareness to assert that sexual harassment and violence, no matter who the perpetrator is, are crimes and would be dealt with accordingly.
A mixed gender special unit in a police force, a telephone hotline, and an online portal for reporting incidents of harassment and violence will help. However, the most important step would be a wider public discussion of what is appropriate and what is not and to ensure gender justice.
Habibul Haque Khondker and Juwel Rana are sociologists.