Can’t these roadside Romeos be reined in?

It is high time that we removed the ever-perennial social stigma of eve-teasing by legal means. It remains a canker in our society. The other day when I asked one of my acquaintances (it’s a he) about his pastime, the last activity on his list was eve-teasing which he called “the source of euphoria.”

It is very easy to fall prey to the overtures of these roadside Romeos. I’ve been jaw-droppingly surprised to realise that a person who is impeccably dressed in the outside has a pleasant demeanour that belies his real feelings — looks are indeed deceptive!

A common word used by this jobless group is ‘

charakk ’ which, when uttered, seems to give them immense pleasure. Some of their passing comments make us rethink, “are we in the nude?” The dead truth is that the girl need not be wearing a skimpy or midriff revealing dress to fall prey to these comments. And, above all, the sadistic grin that dances on the perpetrator’s face after being convinced that the girl is harassed or embarrassed to the core is sickening.

No amount of stares helps solve this menace. On the other hand, it only encourages them to pass uncouth comments. Stalking, groping inside a bus and other crowded places like airports, flashing themselves on roads and pavements and resorting to extreme steps like acid attacks are some of the cheap tactics by which they satiate their nasty or unsavoury fetish. Sari pins, long nails, etc., find mention in the homilies as saviours at such times. But these are not the best antidote to this illness. Newspaper reports about the sad demise of a brother who tried to protect his sister from goons are not new to our eyes. The brutal rape and murder of Soumya, a Keralite during her fisticuffs with a handicapped burglar found place in the annals of judicial history when a fast track court in Thrissur awarded the death sentence to Govindasamy, the murderer, in November 2011 after arriving at the conclusion that he was a threat to society and did not deserve any leniency.

However, this is a rare case when justice was granted because more often than not, the accused in such cases are let off with a word of caution by police. No amount of punishment seems to deter these criminals from their offensive ‘goals.’ Even after all these happenings, it’s sheer surprise that the Railway budget 2012 is silent about the “safety of the passengers.” Incredible India!

(The writer’s email is msruthy180@gmail.com)