Sexual harassment

THE problem of sexual harassment is the talk of the town nowadays. Sexual harassment is generally defined as unwelcome sexual advances. To be simple, it is often described as a kind of forceful sexual attack on a woman by a person. It is happening quite frequently with women in our country. Several incidents are taking place everyday according to report in media. As we talk about this, we are instantly reminded of the incident that occurred on Pahela Boishakh inside Dhaka University campus. It embarrassed the entire nation to say the least. The way girls were harassed and forced sexually at a public festival and at a well known public place was just a disgrace to the society. The security concern of a woman is now a matter of concern for all the people in the country. There are specific laws to curb the crime. But these laws now act like a machine without an operator. The offenders are yet to be identified and brought to justice. Things are gradually going out of control and the government should identify and punish the criminals involved to prevent women from being sexually harassed. Emergency Security Service centres should be opened to help the victims immediately. After all, it is the government that can extend effective help for people in distress in general and women and children in particular. The political parties and leading citizens of the society have an important role to play in mobilizing the people to form a national resistance to fight these evils.
Bany Ahamed
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