***There is a need for looking at the girl's point of view sympathetically, and persuading the tormentor through his parents, schools and colleges to refrain from such disgraceful behaviour.***

OVER the last few months we have been shocked by the unprecedented number of suicide cases among girls due to eve teasing. Eve teasing has become a kind of violence. A teaser is a "person who makes fun of or provokes others in a painful or unkind way."

Eve teasing begins as an attempt to irritate a girl or catch her attention. A lewd stare, an un-wanted bump, a seemingly casual touch, cheap gesture, downright uncouth comments, making unwelcome calls or missed calls, sending indecent text messages, are all examples of eve teasing. The boy does not even think that this type of despicable behaviour is a crime.

Social norms and values are being forgotten day by day. Love and affection have been lost in our society. Our society is patriarchal, and gives more importance to boys in many cases. In our families, we have discrimination between boys and girls.

Eve teasing mainly takes place in front of schools, coaching centres, lonely places, bus counters, market places, in the neighbourhood etc.

In the last few years a large number of students of schools, colleges and universities committed suicide because of eve teasing. Eve teasing might seem to be harmless "fun" to some but gets on the nerves of the victims.

Parents concerned about their daughters keep them at home or marry them off at an early age. Because of early marriage maternal mortality rate and infant mortality rate are high, which may hamper the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal.

Serious all out effort must be made to combat eve teasing, which is becoming asocial malady. There is much that can be donebyboththe girls

and the boys, and also by institutions, parents and the community. The society usually makes light of any complaint by either the girlorherfriends.Ithasaway of blaming the girl rather than the boy.

People admonish the girl, saying that she must have given encouragement to attract the comments. And the girl, being frustrated, may even commit suicide. So there is a need for looking at the girl's point of view sympathetically, and persuading the tormentor through his parents, schools and colleges to refrain from such disgraceful behaviour.

There is a need for an awareness building campaign by the NGOs, local government bodies, and the schools, colleges and communities against eve teasing and on the ways to redress it.

Mahmuda Husain is a human and women's rights activist, and member of Gender Trainers Core Group.