In Nepal, an online survey was carried out using the #IWalkFreely. Women harassment has been a serious problem as women were harassed in almost everywhere they are such as homes, workplaces and also the streets. The #IWalkFreely survey collected over 1,000 responses and 98 percent of all women said they had been harassed (Read more at http://nepalitimes.com/article/nation/sexual-harassment-in-Nepal,3389 )
Street harassment happens in all parts of the world according to the website http://www.stopstreetharassment.org/resources/statistics/statistics-academic-studies/ the surveys were made mostly in 3rd world countries but even in 1st world countries, it is common for women to experience this. many argue that dress code is the problem but even in the streets of Saudi Arabia where women are obligated to dress in black Abayas are being harassed, nearly 80% of women ages 18 to 48 said they had experienced sexual harassment—including street harassment—in a study reported in Al-Monitor in 2014 according to this website.
Jasmine Ho Abdullah a very successful Malaysian debater showed her disappointment of the Malaysian Authorities by posting in her Facebook page stating that "Street harassment has a way of making a girl feel really unsafe. It's 2017, and I still don't feel safe walking around the streets of Malaysia in broad daylight.We have JAIS apps to catch unmarried couples who consent to being intimate, and authorities carrying out operations to catch motorcyclists who happened to be of different genders on the same bike. Religious Authorities in this country sure have their priorities right."
I myself was very disappointed with how I was treated by men in my university, I come from an Islamic university and almost every time I walk, I would be cat called and it is very sad to see men who are educated, men who have sisters and a mother, men who are Muslims who are expected to have very high moral values do such things.
Picture taken from http://people.com/celebrity/no-catcalling-zone-signs-pop-up-in-new-york/
This signboards were placed in the roads of New York by a non profit making company called the Feminist Apparel who sells printed t-shirts.
Does staying silent work? I don't think so, often than not, every time a woman is cat called she would just ignore the man or men and continue working. this has made it 'okay' for men to harass women on streets, this cannot be tolerated just imagine every time you set a foot out of a building there's a man honking at you, winding down his window so he could whistle at you or even go as far as verbally harassing you. There are anti street harassment groups, campaigns being done for the purposes of awareness to address this as a problem so people do not take this lightly. believe it or not a friend of mine who is a male wasn't aware of what do women experience on a daily basis until I told him about it. In twitter, the #firstharassed was once a trending hashtag where millions of women tells their bitter experience of their very first time of being harassed. Check out their stories in https://twitter.com/hashtag/firstharassed?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
I always seek solutions as spreading awareness isn't enough for me. When I asked my cousin's opinion, her responds was "they way you see things has to be changed" our way of thinking is the only key to the solution. the way men choose to look at women is very important, it should be full of respect. I believe every mankind has to treat one another with respect despite their gender, women should actually be protected by men. I hope this blog post reaches all men, and also change the way next time you see woman. Give her a smile out of respect and treat her well.
