Bangladesh goes tough against men stalking women, girls

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

Bangladesh goes tough against men stalking women, girls


21:47, November 10, 2010

Bangladesh's Ministry of Home Affairs Wednesday said men stalking of women and girls will be punished with one-year imprisonment or fine or both as the South Asian country's government has amended law to pave the way for stern action against offenders.

Md. Sahenor Miah, senior spokesman of the ministry, told Xinhua Wednesday that the government on Tuesday amended the country's " Mobile Court Act 2009" empowering the mobile courts to try offenders of stalking girls or women summarily.

"The new law will come into effect as soon as a gazette notification is published. We hope that the gazette notification will be published within a day or two," Miah said.

In the wake of an alarming rise in stalking of women by unruly men, he said the government has also decided to set mobile courts in operation in every district of the country.

Stalking of women in Bangladesh has taken a severe turn during the last couple of months particularly with a growing number of people being murdered or maimed for their efforts to resist the menace.

In last nine months, according to a recent report of a local rights group Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK), at least 25 women committed suicide to escape the horror of abuse, while nine males, including a college teacher, lost their lives for standing up against stalkers.

ASK, a national level legal aid and human rights organization, also reports that around 131 women were assaulted by their stalkers and 54 males came under attack for protesting teasing.

Source: Xinhua

Bangladesh goes tough against men stalking women, girls - People's Daily Online

 

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

Bangladesh empowers mobile courts to stop 'Eve teasing'

BBC News - Bangladesh empowers mobile courts to stop 'Eve teasing'

By Anbarasan Ethirajan BBC News, Dhaka

"Eve teasing" protest in Dhaka Students protested at recent suicides and killings involving women who had been harassed
Continue reading the main story
Related stories


Mobile courts in Bangladesh have been empowered to prosecute people accused of sexually harassing women, or "Eve teasing", officials have said.

Anyone convicted of sexual harassment or stalking of women will face a year in jail or a fine of about $70 or both.

The government's move follows increasing incidents of sexual harassment and stalking of women.

Until now mobile courts dealt with less serious crimes, such as traffic violations and hoarding.

"For the first time a social crime has been brought under the jurisdiction of mobile courts," Abdus Sobhan Sikder, the Bangladesh home secretary, told the BBC.

"The idea behind the move is for a speedy trial in cases of sexual harassment and stalking."

Young women often face verbal abuse and taunts in Bangladesh, and sometimes stalked by colleagues at school or other young men.

Some young women, unable to bear the repeated insults, have even gone so far as to commit suicide.

Usually, it takes weeks before these cases can be heard in a normal criminal court and the conviction rate is said to be very low.

Now the government hopes mobile courts can dispose of the cases quickly - and that the punishments they hand out will act as a deterrent to others.

"Mobile courts all across the country will be trying these cases. District officials can form mobile courts whenever they think it is necessary," Mr Sikder said.
Killings

The High Court last week asked the government to take measures to stop sexual harassment and stalking of women after a number of suicides and killings related to the issue in recent weeks.

Activists say more than 24 people, most of them young girls, have died because of bullying and harassment since the beginning of this year.

In recent weeks, some of those who spoke out against sexual harassment have been murdered, causing public outrage.

A 50-year-old woman died after a motorcycle was driven over her when she protested against the bullying of her daughter last week.

A college teacher who spoke against bullying was also murdered. The killings led to a series of protests across the country.

Campaigners have been urging the government to enact tougher laws to punish those responsible for sexual harassment and bullying.

 

[TopCat]

Crackdown includes these.. LOL

Loved it...

 

[The Clarifier]

half the sub-continent's men are deprived of wives it seems lool

 

[TopCat]

Look at any movies in this subcontinent and half of it is filled with stalking...
Such a loosers...

 

[nForce]

Crackdown includes these.. LOL

Loved it...

Its good to see that BD has taken tough steps to curb stalking,eve teasing etc.
Its just that the picture looks a bit offensive to me,because of what is written over what they wearing.It is like humiliating somebody publicly.Of course these people need to be punished.But those pictures may affect the life of these people for a long term.

 

[TopCat]

Its good to see that BD has taken tough steps to curb stalking,eve teasing etc.
Its just that the picture looks a bit offensive to me,because of what is written over what they wearing.It is like humiliating somebody publicly.Of course these people need to be punished.But those pictures may affect the life of these people for a long term.

Believe it works more than anything else....

 

[nForce]

Believe it works more than anything else....

I will have to agree with you on that.But I don't think public humiliation is permitted by the law.I may be wrong though.

 

[Roby]

Crackdown includes these.. LOL

Loved it...

@lajdani
can you translate what is written in their clothes?

 

[WAQAS119]

 

[TopCat]

@lajdani
can you translate what is written in their clothes?

I am a stalker
I am a eveteaser.



Shoot its not me its those guys..

 

[nForce]

@lajdani
can you translate what is written in their clothes?

I stalk/irritate women.I am an eveteaser.

 

[saleen_s7]

Ever since Bangladesh became an independant country, from 1972-1975, stalking, raping and such activities increased drasitically. There are allegations of sheikh kamal and jamal picking up garments workers and raping them. And since the fall of mujib, these numbers went down again. Now in 2010, I read an article few days ago, of how some chatra league leader openly celebrated his 100th rape. I can promise you, if chatra league activists were prosecuted, this figures will go down drastically.

 

[Skies]

^ Well done. I was also thinking to delete that post. You just have done it before me. Why would I badnaam myself for la-hasina!? LOL. The fact is I told the true fact in bad language.

 

[eastwatch]

51pc girl students stalked

Sunday, November 14, 2010
51pc girl students stalked, Seminar told
Staff Correspondent

Fifty-one percent girls, aged between 11 and 20, are harassed by stalkers on their way to schools and colleges, said women leaders at a seminar in the capital yesterday.

Salma Khan, president of Women for Women, revealed the information at the seminar titled “Sexual harassment on women at workplace: Bangladesh perspective”.

Bangladesh Federation of University Women (BFUW), a 56-year-old organisation, hosted the seminar at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre.

Thirty-nine percent girls from middle income and 10 percent from higher income families are being harassed or become victims of stalking, she said referring to a recent study of Steps, a non-government organisation (NGO).

Women also often face harassment at their workplaces, including garments, NGOs and multinational companies, said the speakers.

The stalkers are mostly aged between 20 and 25 and among them 15 percent belong to upper class and influential families, 60 percent to middle class and 25 percent to low-income families.

The society and families must show 'zero tolerance' for the evil-mongers.

The existing laws and guidelines of the country are sufficient to stop sexual harassment and we need to work to this end, observed the chief guest Salma Ali, executive director of Bangladesh National Women Lawyers' Association.

“Parents will have to take responsibilities to educate their children properly at family level to eradicate stalking,” suggested Dr Maleka Begum, a teacher at Department of Women and Gender Studies under Dhaka University (DU).

Prof Nazmunnesa Mahtab and Dr Nazma Siddique of Women and Gender Studies of DU, president Monowara Islam, general secretary Rasheda Hussain and members Dilara Chowdhury and Nilufar Sultana of the BFUW, among others, addressed the seminar.