Taking on sexual harassment
THE High Court, in an epoch-making move, issued a set of guidelines on May 14 to plug a gaping hole in the country's existing laws through introducing a first-ever ban on any kind of sexual abuse and harassment of women, girls, and children at their workplaces, educational institutions, and other public places including roads.
A HC bench came up with the guidelines, directives and ruling as an interim measure until new laws could be passed in the parliament against sexual abuse and harassment of girls and women.
The HC has also directed the concerned authorities to form a five-member harassment complaint committee headed by a women at every workplace and institution to investigate allegations from girls or women for any mental, physical, or sexual harassment and recommend to the authorities for taking action against the accused persons.
According to the guidelines, nobody can touch with any bad intention any part of the body of a woman or girl. No indecent word or comment can be made to them and no unknown woman or adult girl can be addressed as a beautiful one with any bad intention.
The HC has also criminalised teasing girls and women through e-mail or telephone and ordered that any kind of provocation or character assassination will have to be stopped. The HC has, however, prohibited the concerned authorities from disclosing the names and addresses of the complainants and accused persons until the allegations are proved.
Sexual abuse and harassment against girls and women in their educational institutions and workplaces have been endemic as they often feel helpless and ashamed to speak out if they were harassed in the absence of any specific law to punish the perpetrators of harassment.
These crimes came to light for the first time in July 2008, when several public universities received a spate of complaints from their female students of sexual abuse and harassment by their teachers, prompting the education ministry to instruct the University Grants Commission for formulation of a policy to stop it.
The general students of Jahangirnagar University burst into protests after four female students of the drama and dramatics department had brought allegations of sexual harassment against the chairman of the department.
The JU authorities formed three separate prove bodies, which examined witnesses and issued reports with clear findings against the accused teacher. But one finds it quite painful as the JU authorities exonerated the accused teacher from the charge of sexual harassment and suspended six students on charge of assaulting him.
The matter had come to such a pass that a third-year female student of the same department tried to commit suicide by taking sleeping pills due to the deep shock she received at the syndicate's decision.
The HC on May 17, has declared illegal JU authorities' decision to exonerate the JU drama and dramatics department chairman from sexual harassment charges and to suspend six students on charge of assaulting him. The HC has also directed the JU authorities to hold a fresh enquiry into the incident and take action.
The decision of JU syndicate to exonerate an accused teacher from sexual harassment charges, disregarding the findings of three separate enquiry committees, has put the academy to great shame.
There is enough anecdotal evidence to suggest that several premier seats of learning in the country have acquired a dubious distinction in terms of sexual harassment, where the female students instead of feeling secure under the wings of their revered teachers, find themselves vulnerable. Certainly, it is quite disgraceful for the teaching community as a whole.
In its landmark judgment, the HC has introduced first-ever sexual harassment ban, pending enactment of a law to resist sexual harassment of women. But the set of guidelines laid down in the HC's verdict has no real direction in terms of punishment to the accused persons if they are found guilty. There is no guideline for forming harassment complaint committee in the educational institutions, where sexual harassment is endemic.
Now the paramount task before the members of our parliament is to pay heed to this crucial need and instruct the relevant agencies to formulate a full-fledged law to be enacted as soon as possible for resisting sexual harassment of women.
We must also remember that enactment of law is not enough to resist sexual harassment of women. The government and the women's right activists also need to organise vigorous campaigns to change the mindset of people in general and the males in particular, creating a familial atmosphere among all men and women in their workplaces to wipe out the ailing culture of sexual harassment.
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