Despite taking some sporadic punitive actions, incidents of sexual harassment are becoming worse due to non-existence of the rule of law, bending laws for some unruly stalkers and thugs and their sure impunity, and overall moral degradation caused by cultural aggression and dissolution of family values. Our shameful ineptness to protect our girls and tolerance to the heinous crimes have surely retrograde the society.
Another rights campaigner revealed some 146 girls and women committed suicide in seven and half years since 2009 due to harassment while from 2009 to August 2016, at least 3957 incidents of stalking were reported. In this period, some 1145 people were assaulted for protesting harassment of girls and women by stalkers. As most of the victims, between 10 and 25 years, fall prey to stalkers on their way to and from schools, colleges and even universities, cases of dropouts and incidents of early marriage of girl students have gone up. A 2011 survey revealed that 5.1 percent of girl students’ dropouts in secondary schools occurred due to stalking.
It is important to note that the High Court ordered the government a few years ago to make a law to strictly deal with cases of sexual harassment such as stalking of women and girls. Unfortunately, all these have so far fallen on deaf ears. Against such a backdrop, one has, indeed, little reasons to be surprised at the recent incidents of stalking.
Regrettably, however, many of the perpetrators captured by ordinary people and handed over to the police were subsequently reported enlarged on bail and to engage further in similar crimes.
Unless the politics of illegitimacy, corruption and cruelty is contained, law and order situation cannot be controlled by the police alone. Police is being used as the cause and not as the remedy for lawlessness among the young ones. We must make our society safe for sanity and not haven for cruel politics.
