Mushfique Wadud
A large number of girls, mainly in rural areas, are at risk of failing to complete their school and college education if stalking is not stopped, educationists and women’s education activists said.
They said that the recent progress Bangladesh has made in women’s education would be badly affected if stalking continued as it is at present.
‘Sexual harassment is a big problem for women when they move around. Female students face it mainly on their way to schools and colleges and it will have a negative impact on their education,’ the Campaign for Popular Education executive director, Rasheda K Choudhury, told New Age.
‘We fear that it might increase the girls’ dropout rate from schools and colleges,’ she said.
The number of incidents of stalking is now reported to be higher than ever. According to the human rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra, from January 2010 to November 2010, newspapers reported that 28 women had committed suicide to avoid stalking while seven had attempted suicide.
A man also committed suicide fearing the social insult after his daughter had been harassed. In addition, during this period, three women and 14 men were killed by stalkers when they protested at stalking.
Despite some government steps to try and stop stalking, there appears no evidence of a decline.
On January 6, 15-year-old Rumpa Akhter Ruma, who was due to take the SSC examinations this year at the Rangpur Rifles Public School, committed suicide to avoid stalking.
According to her parents, a man had been disturbing Rumpa for a long period of time when she travelled to school.
Ain o Salish Kendra said that its compilation of newspaper reports suggest that between January and November 2010, 61 girls stopped going to school for the fear of stalking. Activists said that the number was likely to be far higher as the majority of cases would not be reported.
Rasheda said, ‘In our study, we found that in Class VI, the enrolment rate of girls is high but they dropped out when they reach Class X.’
‘One of the reasons for this dropout is the insecurity of parents in sending their daughters to school,’ she said.
‘We fear that it will affect the progress which the country has made recently in women’s education,’ she added.
Salma Khan, president of the Women for Women, said, ‘The girls’ dropout rate has already increased and it will be on the rise if we cannot stop sexual harassment against women,’ said Salma Khan.
She said that various studies pointed out that the insecurity that parents feel when they send their daughters to schools is one of the reasons for female drop-out rates.
She, however, added that harassment might also be the cause of recent poor exams results among female students.
‘If you look at the recent results of public examinations, you will see nowadays girls are not doing well. I think it is due to the sexual harassment they face,’ she said.
‘Many parents marry off their children when they are young because of this insecurity which can be a big social problem,’ she added.
According to the Bangladesh National Women Lawyers’ Association, almost 90 per cent of girls aged between10–18 years have faced sexual harassment.
According to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) State of the World’s Children 2009 report, more than 64 per cent of girls marry before they are 18.
Asked about the impact of stalking on girls’ drop-out from educational institutions, the education minister, Nurul Islam Nahid, said ‘It is a big concern. Women’s education will be affected if they are not safe on the way to schools.’
‘We have taken measures to stop stalking. I go to the location where incidents take place. The mobile court was initiated and we have conducted many social awareness programmes,’ Nahid said.
‘But it is not possible to stop it overnight. It is a continuous process,’ he added.
