Thursday, November 14, 2024

E-stalkers on the prowl

Faceless criminals use cell phones, internet to harass women of all ages; law hugely inadequate to tackle the silent epidemic
While conventional stalking has received much attention lately, harassment through mobile phone and the internet has grown to be a silent epidemic in the last few years, experts and victims said.
The Daily Star has recently interviewed 30 women at random about the issue, and found every one of them has been harassed electronically.
“It is sexual harassment of the new millennium,” said Sultana Kamal, rights activist and former adviser to the caretaker government. “And almost all the victims are women.”
Kamal said the anonymity of the electronic communication devices makes it more likely for a person to indulge in stalking. “Some people are turning to technological means to do and say things they otherwise would not do.”
The women interviewed were middle and upper class professionals, students and a housewife.
One was a schoolgirl who spent sleepless nights because of crank calls; another was an industrialist’s daughter who stumbled across obscene pictures and her personal details on a Facebook profile someone else had opened in her name.
Naima Hossain, a college student, was taunted and teased over the phone for a week by a person she had never met. The stalker, who asked her out several times, threatened to throw acid on her face for refusal.
“That they [stalkers] do not have a face makes it even more traumatic for the victims,” said Shamim F Karim, a psychology professor at Dhaka University.
Getting stalked by someone the victim knows can be no less unnerving.
Shamrin Afia Adiba, a BBA student, knew her stalker. For three years, she got taunting phone calls almost every hour.
About the nightmare she had gone through, she said it felt like her life was being slowly poisoned.
The stalker, a jilted male friend working at a telecom operator, used her cellphone number to track her location in real time. He let her know he was watching her, and threatened several times to kidnap her.
Switching to a different operator did not help, as he managed to trace Shamrin’s new number through a friend working there.
While no statistics are available to confirm the number of electronic stalking victims, social experts point out that almost every woman using a mobile phone or the internet has suffered abuse at one time or another.
From January to July this year, 44 women reported harassment to the cyber crime prevention cell of the police’s detective branch. In response, the police have blocked 46 SIM cards.
The law enforcers however admit that blocking SIM is not enough, as most people own multiple numbers, and a new subscription is only some cash away.
They said the existing laws appear toothless when it comes to fighting e-stalking, as some of them are more than a hundred years old.
Mustafizur Rahman, officer-in-charge of the New Market Police Station, said, “The laws require us to know the stalker’s identity to take action against him. This is a major problem since in many cases the perpetrator remains unidentified.”
Supreme Court lawyer Nina Goswami, director (mediation) at Ain O Salish Kendra, the rights group which has received two cyber-stalking cases this year, stresses the need for a law against crimes in the cyber space.
“It is difficult to take action against the stalkers as there is no specific law,” said the lawyer, herself a victim of mobile phone harassment.
A proposed act to curb cellphone-related crimes and harassment promises some respite. The draft law defines stalking, both physical and digital, as sexual harassment, and prescribes punishment.
Experts, however, fear the new law may prove ineffective, as most of the stalking incidents tend to go unreported.
Arifa Hossain says she perhaps knows why victims are reluctant to complain to the police. She went to the local police station to report abusive phone calls but thought better of it.
“You won’t expect much from the cops once you see how they fumble with the mouse and eye the computer as if it’s an alien thing.”
A police representative admitted there is a lack of tech-savvy officers needed to hunt down high-tech criminals. He said this is a reason why the detective branch’s cyber crime cell, set up in 2008, exists in name only.
Exceptional cases however receive special attention from the police. When a youth posted offensive materials on Facebook to taunt politicians in May, he was arrested within days and the whole social networking website was banned for a week.
“Banning an entire website is out of the question. But there should be some sort of a law or policy to safeguard our young women,” said Dr Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, a professor at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology.
Experts believe fear of social stigma is another reason why victims are loath to file compliant with the police.
“Forget police, women do not tell anyone about being harassed for fear of being stigmatised,” said Shamim F Karim, psychology teacher at DU. “Women, especially those in the city, have become accustomed to harassment in everyday life.”
She suggested that anyone experiencing harassment over the phone or the internet should inform her family members immediately. “The family members can go to the police if necessary.”
She noted that some young women, who are actually unaware that they are being subjected to a form of sexual harassment, try to laugh off the matter.
Some do not.
Trisa Gloria Rodriguez, for one, has been receiving irritating phone calls for some time. The stalker calls from different numbers and makes loud smooching noises.
She tried to reason with him, but it did not work. Yelling did not bring much result either.
“Disgusting. I feel like kicking him,” says an irate Trisa.

 

Courtesy of The Daily Star

Related News

Saudi Arabia opens doors to nurses from Bangladesh in landmark move

There are only a few dozen clinicians among nearly 30 lakh Bangladeshi expatriates in Saudi Arabia Kamran Siddiqui Highlights Saudi Arabia has begun recruiting Bangladeshi nurses, marking a significant milestone in overseas employment, as the Gulf nation traditionally employs lower-wage, less-skilled workers from the country. The recruitment process, targeting an initial intake of 500 nurses, ... Read more

DU changes admission test for Ijtema, ‘Ka’ unit exam to February 15

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The General Admission Committee of Dhaka University (DU) has rescheduled the “Ka” unit (science) admission test to February 15 due to the Biswa Ijtema. Previously, the exam was scheduled for February 1. “We decided to defer the ‘Ka’ unit test date as it coincides with Biswa Ijtema,” said Professor Mamun Ahmed, ... Read more

Yunus opens dedicated lounge for migrant workers at Dhaka airport

News Desk : dhakamirror.com In a heartfelt acknowledgment of their invaluable contributions, the country is set to honour its expatriate workers with a new lounge at the Dhaka airport designed to make their journeys more comfortable. Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Monday inaugurated a special lounge for the country’s migrant workers at Hazrat Shahjalal ... Read more

Khaleda’s 10-year jail term stayed by SC

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Monday stayed a 2018 High Court ruling that had extended Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia’s prison sentence from five years to 10 years in the Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Orphanage Trust case. A three-member Appellate Division bench led by Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam ... Read more

JnU students end protests after demands met

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Jagannath University students on Tuesday withdrew their movement, for the construction of the university’s second campus, after the interim government accepted their demands. AKM Rakib, an organiser of the movement, told reporters after a meeting held at the education ministry on the day that they were withdrawing the movement. ‘The government ... Read more

Applications for school admission begin

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Admission applications for grades one to nine in both public and private schools have started this morning. Students can start applying online from 11am. The application process will continue until 5pm on November 30, reports The Business Standard. After the application period ends, students will be chosen through a digital lottery, ... Read more

Grandchildren of deceased government employees now eligible to receive pensions, gratuity

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Government employees’ pensions and retirement benefits have been modified by the government, allowing their grandchildren to receive them in the event that no other eligible nominee is available. In this regard, a notification was released by the finance ministry today, November 10. The amendment comes amid a legal complication in this ... Read more

Entry exam for MBBS on January 17 and BDS on February 28

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The entrance exam for MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) 2024-2025 academic year will be held on January 17, while the BDS (Bachelor of Dental Surgery ) is scheduled for February 28. The dates were finalised at a meeting today at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare at ... Read more

BMD Winter outlook: Winter going to be colder this year

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Eight to ten mild to moderate cold waves could hit the country in the upcoming winter, a Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) official stated yesterday. Two to three of those waves could turn into severe cold waves, with temperatures likely to drop as low as 4 degree Celsius, in the northwestern, northeastern, ... Read more

Govt made the decision to revoke Cyber Security Act

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh’s interim government advisory council, on Thursday, made a policy decision to repeal the controversial Cyber Security Act. This decision was made at a meeting held at the office of chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus in Tejgaon, Dhaka. After the meeting, environment, forests and climate change adviser Syeda Rizwana Hassan confirmed ... Read more

Everyone must work together to save rivers: Rizwana

News Desk : dhakamirror.com “We must save rivers and stop pollution caused by mills and industries. However, the entire responsibility cannot be imposed on the government. Everyone must work together,” said Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan yesterday. “In a democracy, everyone has a stake. Preservation of the environment will only be successful when everybody participates,” ... Read more

Actress Shomi Kaiser arrested

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Actress Shomi Kaiser has been arrested from Uttara in the capital, said the police. Uttara West police station officer-in-charge Hafizur Rahman stated that she was arrested from a house in Sector 4 of Uttara at around 1:00 am on Wednesday. An on-duty officer at the Uttara (West) police station confirmed that ... Read more

Ijtema scheduled for two phases from January 31 to February 9: home adviser

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Bishwa Ijtema is set to take place in two phases from January 31 to February 9 next year, as announced today by Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury. The first phase will be held from January 31 to February 2, with the second phase from February 7 to ... Read more

Bangladesh sent 9.3 lakh workers abroad since Jan

BSS With sincere efforts by different stakeholders, especially the government, Bangladesh sent abroad 9.3 lakh workers with jobs from January to 2 November this year. “The trend of overseas employment is satisfactory so far and we are expecting to send more remittance senders with jobs this year,” Director of Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training ... Read more

Policymakers unaware of people’s struggles as they don’t rely on public transport, says Road Safety Foundation

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Those responsible for public transport policymaking in the country do not use public transport in the capital, so they do not understand the sufferings people endure, Road Safety Foundation (RSF) Chairman AI Mahbub Uddin Ahmed said today (2 November). The chairman of the Road Safety Foundation (RSF), AI Mahbub Uddin Ahmed, ... Read more

Job aspirants can now try 4 times for BCS exam

News Desk : dhakamirror.com From now a job seekers will be able to sit for Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examinations up to a maximum of four times. This decision was taken at a meeting of the advisory council chaired by chief adviser Dr Mohammad Yunus at his office on Thursday, said a press release from ... Read more

Load-shedding surpasses 1,500MW as Adani reduces generation

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Load shedding exceeded 1,500MW on Friday after yet another power producer, the Adani power limited, cut its production due to non-payment of bills. Grappling with a dollar crisis for more than two years, Bangladesh’s dues to power plants jumped to over Tk 43,000 crore in July. Adani’s outstanding bill stood at ... Read more

DU-affiliated 7-college students block Science Laboratory for 2nd consecutive day

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Students of seven colleges affiliated with Dhaka University (DU) have blocked the Science Lab intersection in the capital on Wednesday for the second consecutive day to press home their demand for a separate autonomous university. They blocked the crossing at about 11:00am halting vehicular movement. Students of the seven colleges — ... Read more

Madrasa student drowns in Cox’s Bazar

News Desk : dhakamirror.com A madrasa student drowned near the beach in Cox’s Bazar around 12:30pm today (26 October). The incident happened at Sugandha Point, confirmed Executive Magistrate of Tourism Division of Cox’s Bazar district administration Md Tanvir Hossain. The deceased has been identified as Mahmudur Rahman, son of Didarul Alam from Banglabazar area under ... Read more

Cyclone Dana turns into land depression

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Cyclone “Dana” over North Odisha and adjoining area moved and weakened North-Northwestwards and now lies over the same area as a land depression. It is likely to move West-Northwestwards further and weaken gradually and will become insignificant, said a Met office bulletin on Saturday, reports UNB. “Light to moderate rain or ... Read more