Reserved seat MP and renowned actress Suborna Mostafa has slammed the incident of a woman being harassed by a policeman for wearing a teep, or bindi, on her forehead.
She demanded action against the accused policeman to ensure that such harassment would not be repeated.
During a session of the parliament on Sunday, Suborna said: “Where in the constitution of Bangladesh or in which law does it say that a woman cannot wear a teep? It does not matter if she is a Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Budhist, single, married, or a widow, she has the right to wear one if she wants.”
On Saturday, Theatre and Media Studies teacher Lota Sumaddaer filed a complaint with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police station.
According to the complaint, the teacher of Tejgaon College in Dhaka was harassed and threatened by a man in police uniform for wearing a teep, a decorative mark worn in the middle of the forehead by women in the Indian subcontinent. The incident took place near the college at Farmgate on the day of the complaint.
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The complaint also said that Lota has been feeling unsafe since the incident.
“I was threatened when I protested his verbal abuse,” it reads.
The policeman reportedly tried to run her over with the motorcycle when she protested. Lota managed to get out of the way but sustained some injures from falling on the street.
"When we see someone from the law enforcement agencies of the country participating in eve teasing and harassment, it is a great shame for all of us," Suborna said in parliament on Sunday.
OC Utpal Barua said the teacher could not give the name of the policeman in question, but she did provide the registration number on the license plate of the motorcycle.
“The matter is being looked into,” he added.
