OneWorld.net (U.S.)

This article is a response to an advertisement brought out by the Delhi Police in the Hindustan Times, in the first week of September 2005. It appears that the aim of the advertisement is to encourage men to join the drive against ‘eve-teasing’.

The advertisement shows a group of men and two women standing at a bus stop. Three men are harassing one of the women, while the other men and the second woman watch the scene without doing anything. The caption reads, ‘There are no men in the picture. Or this wouldn’t happen’.

The copy goes on to mention that the woman being ‘teased’ by the men is feeling humiliated and embarrassed and that you as a ‘real man’ should protect and help her and escort her away from the scene. You (the ‘real man’) would also save her from ‘shame and hurt’. The copy ended with the words ‘Protect women from eve teasers’ (in capital and bold letters).

The advertisement shows that the government is committed to the prevention of ‘eve-teasing’. It also shows recognition of the fact that eve teasing is not a women’s problem, and commendably addresses the issue of societal responsibility for perpetuation of violence against women.

However, the copy is based upon deeply problematic understandings of masculinity and femininity, and debatable ideologies and values, and therefore, in my view, fails to engage a reader in the core issues and values that may lead to behaviour change. Let us look at some of the issues:

To begin with, the entire concept of ‘teasing’ or ‘eve-teasing’. This is not a harmless tale of a woman being ‘teased’. Remember the chhedkhani that is depicted in every other Hindi film, where the macho hero ‘teases’ the heroine as a legitimate form of male-female interaction before the female capitulates and ‘falls in love’ with him?

In reality, this is not about being ‘teased’, it is about a woman being sexually harassed. This woman - and many of us – are sexually harassed and assaulted every single day. At bus stops, in buses, in trains, on roads, at every public place… It is time to give the act the name it deserves, with an appropriate punishment to go with such an act.

The feelings of the woman (as mentioned in the ad) are humiliation, embarrassment, shame and hurt. Yes, many of us do go through these emotions, but what the copywriter forgot to mention is anger. Women feel angry that they are being treated this way. They are angry that people are mere silent on-lookers, watching the different ways in which women’s bodies and feelings are violated; they are furious that men and other perpetrators of violence are allowed to get away with the crime, by hiding it under the garb of ‘eve-teasing’. It is time to recognise the emotions that such acts generate in women. Another notion that needs to be looked at a little more deeply is that of a woman needing to be protected and ‘saved’. The implication is, of course, that she is delicate and fragile and is incapable of helping herself. It is important to recognise that women can and do protect themselves all the time.

Every single day, a woman protects herself from eyes that stare hungrily at her, hands that reach out and grab her, words that insult her, catcalls and sounds that hit her like a ton of bricks … It is time to recognise a woman’s capacities as an individual and as a person who should be treated with dignity and respect.

Ideas of about a woman and her place in the world need to be re-examined. As citizens of this city, this is the moment for us to start taking responsibility to stop violence against women and girls. The perpetuation and continuation of violence against women is a reflection upon all of us and of the kind of society that we live in.

The first step to making a change is to accept that violence against women is not a ‘women’s issue’ but a societal issue. This ad is a step in the right direction; it places the responsibility of prevention upon all of us.

However it is time to get out of the protection mode and recognise it as a violation of rights. ‘Real men’, and indeed, ‘real women’ (like the woman onlooker in the ad who has been ignored in the copy) need to work together to create a society free of violence against women and girls. Each and every one of us is has to contribute to that society.

The Delhi Police, on the other hand, needs to change their ad agency.

Nandini Rao is Program Manager, Violence Intervention Cell, at Jagori - A Women’s Resource Centre based in New Delhi, India.