Opinions of college going rural girls about eve teasing: A sociological analysis

Pages: 211-213
Vinod Kumari and Kamaljeet Kaur (Department of Sociology, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana)

The modern India is emerging as a global power but for half of its population, the women across the country, struggle to live life with dignity continue. Women, irrespective of their caste, class and educational status, are not safe and have been the victim of exploitations since long time in different fields in their life both physically, socially, mentally and economically. Eve teaching is the most common act of public violence against women which includes various forms of harassment like making vulgar comment, indecent proposal, unwelcome gestures, attempt to make physical contact, etc. The present study was conducted on 75 girls studying in rural colleges. The data were collected using a interview schedule and analysed for drawing inferences. The results revealed that 64.0 per cent respondents had faced one or other form of eve teaching in their life. More than 2/3rd of the respondents were against the opinion that dress of girl is responsible for eve teaching. The main causes of eve teaching explained by the respondents were lack of respect for girls (89.0%), lack of education (80.0%), lower sex ratio (70.0%), low mentality of males (68.0%) and shyness of girls (67.0%). Majority of girls were of the opinion that incidence of eve teasing can be reduced by strictly enforcing laws (72.0%), moral education at home (76.0%), informing parents (80.0%), awareness about surrounding and self confidence (84.0% each). Expectations of girl students from government and educational institutions have also been discussed and it was concluded that more awareness among girls and preventive measures are needed to curb the menace of eve teasing.