It may not yet have assumed alarming proportions. But according to the Abu Dhabi Criminal Investigation Department sleuths, who apprehended 23 eve-teasers in the capital over the past two weeks, it is certainly one deplorable offence, which is on the rise.
The arrests came in the wake of a strong directive from the Interior Minister, Lieutenant-General Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who has said that there will be 'zero tolerance' of this crime against women. Of the 27 arrested for eve-teasing, mostly in their twenties but also including some married men in their forties, the authorities have decided that all expatriates will be deported.
Maybe it's because my language is Eng-US, but I had never heard of eve teasing until I read this article. What I learned from the article is that it is a deplorable offence by men against women punishable by deportation unless you are a national in which case no discipline is specified other than counseling.
I thought perhaps eve teasing had to do with taking a woman's money but tricking her into thinking you would marry her - a gender reversal of another kind of teasing.
Google says I am wrong. According to Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, which I read for the articles,
One specific form of sexual harassment called "eve-teasing" is prevalent, especially in urban India. (3) The term eve-teasing is used to refer to sexual harassment of women in public places such as the streets, public transportation, parks, beaches, and cinema halls. This type of public harassment by a lone man or gangs of men includes verbal assaults such as making passes or unwelcome sexual jokes; nonverbal assaults such as showing obscene gestures, winking, whistling, and staring; and physical assaults such as pinching, fondling, and rubbing against women in public places ("Eve-teasing," 1999; Stevens, 1984).
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3 comments:
Yeah, I find a lot of the language found in local papers hard to understand.
I suppose the large percentage of asians here is who the papers are directed at?
So basically one can be deported for 'flirting'? I mean who is to judge whether it is 'eve-teasing' or flirting, and what if the actions were welcomed at first and then became un-welcome, where is the line drawn? Or is this another one of those rules that singles out a specific population, and only applies to them because 'we don't care about them and want to get rid of them any way possible, because they are ofcourse- less than human and replaceable'...you know what I'm talking about. I mean yeah its annoying as a woman to be gawked at for the most part when you go out in public here, but you get over it, or at least I did...for goodness sake, there is a female shortage in this country and everyone knows it, why do you think the men act in all the strange ways they do here? And whistling and winking and making 'unwanted' comments are all included...I don't think they should be deported unless it is a threatening situation to the woman, in which she has been physically harmed or stalked or heavily harrased, in which case I don't think it would be called eve-teasing anymore.
ok so, what you are saying, urbanite82, and from what i read i understand that youre a woman, is that it is acceptable to be whistled at, followed, stared down like you have no clothes on or have somebody attempt to look down your shirt, and that they are absolutely un- violateing and that it should only be made punishable by law if it reaches a point of physical harrassment? i mean, i am a woman,and it has happened to me plenty of times and um,no, i dont think its ever "welcome" and then suddenly due to some magic realisation of you being looked at like youre meat become "unwelcome". And to clear the air about flirting, i dont know if youve ever been hit on, but its usually flattering, and if u were ever harrassed by someone on the streets who whisteled and held their crotch while making a face that definitely did NOT suggest that they were flaterring you as anything but fresh, raw meat, i think you would have a different opinion. so no, its not something you get over, and yes, i believe that the degree of "teasing" should be considered, but that doesnt mean that it not be taken seriously. and it sure as hell doesnt make it "okay" for it to happen.
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