Eve-teasing

Being an only son, i lived (and do my best to continue doing so…living that is) for a long time in a cocoon completely unaware of the problems the opposite sex faces on a daily basis. Eve teasing, i thought, was a phenomenon restricted to the movies and dark lanes outside liquor shops… When i first heard of girls being accosted on the road, i dismissed their claims as narcissistic flights of fancy! To this day I have trouble coming to terms with the fact that most of my female friends need to fend off unwanted advances on a daily basis. Living under the constant fear of slowing cars and groups of men must be downright terrifying. Given the wide prevalence of this phenomenon, the sad reality is that women all over India have no option but to get used to such an existence.  however, in this article i wanted to share the possible complications in the perception of eve-teasing.



The problem i suppose begins with identifying what exactly constitutes eve-teasing. It would be safe to establish that eve-teasing is not restricted to unwanted verbal advances but also includes all types of aggressive behaviour that makes women feel unsafe. But herein lies the problem. Considering the context of the deplorable record that Delhi and many other indian cities have worked up for themselves, women (understandably) are likely to feel threatened without the greatest provocation. Innocent actions by the male may well acquire ominous overtones when seen through the prism of yesterday’s headlines.



The movies often tell the romantic tale of the the hero who sees his lady love sitting in a corner of the bus. He looks at her, she looks away, he continues looking at her. Three days later they’re holding hands walking through parks. The example may be exaggerated but the essence remains the same- Persistence pays. So, when our ‘harasser’, subject A, sees a pretty girl, subject B, he may want to start a love story of is own. It’ll be one helluva story to tell the grandkids, right? Grandmom and granddad’s serendipitous meeting in the park? wrong. This is Delhi. Subject A gets an earfull (or a red ear, depending on subject B’s tenacity) because he is seen as one of the many scoundrels who roams the streets of the city. This brings me to a question that has bothered me for a while. Can some cases of eve-teasing be a product of class difference? A man in a bus may receive a scowl while a man at a restaurant or a pub may receive a smile for gestures that are much the same. The only difference lies in the fact that the man in the restaurant clearly belongs to a higher ‘more respectable’ class. This class difference, in my opinion, also effects the male. The unattainability of a certain class of girls may be a reason behind why some men look at women as inanimate objects. Eve-teasing is, after all, not the best route to take if you want to impress a girl you think you have a chance with! 



Most cases of eve-teasing, though, are unambiguously threatening and cannot be written off as ‘misunderstandings’. The context of our times cannot be wished away and with so much at stake, women are bound to expect the worst. that said, one can still endeavour to rise above stereotypes. meanwhile, the meet-cute’s should be left on screen!