Are you being teased 

Eve-teasing remains a reality in Indias streets or when nobodys watching.And its left to women to protect
themselves,says Anuradha Varma 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 

WE may have become a liberal society over the years,but women cant escape being groped on the
streets and elsewhere.Eve-teasing is a reality that refuses to go away as actress Gul Panag found out
when she was manhandled during the Delhi Marathon.
Not long ago,Miss India contestants Priyanka Shah and Ruhi Chaturvedi were harassed by men who
entered their train compartment as they travelled from Ludhiana to Delhi.Again,a 30-year-old from Manipur
was picked up by four drunk men near Dhaula Kuan in Delhi and raped for over 40 minutes in a moving
vehicle.
Kalpana Vishwanath,coordinator,Jagori finds the term eve-teasing a trivialisation and prefers to call it
sexual harassment.The onus of protecting herself rests on the woman.We want to change that.Women
have the right to be out at any time of the night and feel safe. 
She adds,Theres still a lot of objectification of women in the media.To sell a car,you have a woman
standing next to it.The patriarchal system is strong and while theres a change in certain strata,theres also
a backlash from men.For instance,they have been barging into the womens section of the metro
asking,Why do you want privilege 
On the impact of eveteasing,Anand Pawar,executive director,NGO Samyak says,Many times,the
education of a girl is discontinued if she reports the incident to her parents.Many girls are married off
without their consent to protect family honour.If a young woman doesnt respond positively,she is harassed
or made badnaam by various means,including fake social networking profiles. Samyak,a Pune-based
communication and resource centre,has launched a campaign for Safe Pune for Women and Girls and is
also sensitising men on the issue.
A new study from University of Connecticut researchers Stephenie Chaudoir and Diane Quinn suggests
that if women have been subjected to sexist behaviour that can harm them,theyre going to be on high alert
in the future from other men.Says Chaudoir,For men who are doing nothing wrong,these (harassers) may
be shaping the ways that theyre being perceived as well. 
In a recent study involving Russia,Argentina,Tanzania and Delhi,over 80 per cent equated being a woman
with a feeling of vulnerability.The United Nations Development Fund For Women (UNIFEM) recently
launched the Safe Cities programme in c o l l ab o rat i o n with the NGO Jagori and the Delhi
Government.In a study,they found that roadsides and public transport are the most vulnerable places
where women face the highest risk of sexual harassment.Out of 3,813 women surveyed in Delhi,70 per
cent reported that they avoided going to secluded places,another 50 per cent keep away from crowded
places,while 43.5 per cent avoid wearing certain kinds of clothing;40 per cent avoid going out alone after
dark.Physical harassment is highest among school students (41 per cent).At around 51 per cent,stalking is
highest among college students.And only 0.8 per cent women approached the police to report the
harassment.Says womens rights activist Madhu Kishwar,Eve-teasing is the result of an unstable
society,which lacks shared values.Its mostly done by men who know they can get away with it.Try doing it
in a village and the whole community will be up in arms against the perpetrator of the crime.Also,our films
show the hero teasing the girl to win her over,hinting that the girl secretly likes it. 
Madhu also disapproves of girls dressing provocatively,Look at what they wear the clothes scream,Notice
me. 
Most women across India have built-in defence mechanisms to counter eve-teasing.While many take radio
cabs at night,some carry pepper spray to counter an attacker.A journalist remembers bikers following her
for 30 minutes as she drove home from a late-night assignment,commenting,Where are you going alone
Take us with you. Another girl recalls making a close escape from the driver of an auto who tried to get
physically abusive in an isolated spot in an upmarket part of Delhi.Such incidents can mean long-term
trauma for a victim.Says psychologist Rajiv Mehta,Anxiety and depression is common.It can put a person
off sex or the opposite sex in future.It also erodes self-confidence. 
As for the law,though the Indian Penal Code does not define the word eve-teasing,there are three sections
which deal with the crime Sections 509,294 and 354.Explains lawyer Deepak Miglani,These sections
make gestures or acts intended to insult the modesty of a woman or acts that intrude upon her privacy a
crime.The provisions under these sections and the procedural laws are complex and the type of proof that
is required makes it very difficult to get the culprit punished. 
Till society wakes up,women have to continue relying on themselves to stay safe in public spaces!
anuradha.varma@timesgroup.com
Shhh,you are being watched! 

Is anyone safe from the prying eyes of technology As society gets trigger happy,private moments can turn
into masala tales.Indrani Rajkhowa Banerjee reports 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 

WHEN the brainy US President Barack Obama cast a sly glance at Mayora Tavares,a well-endowed 16-
year-old Brazilian girl at the G8 summit,little did he know that an innocuous moment would be turned into
a global tamasha.Closer home,the paparazzi went trigger happy when Rekha turned to greet Amitabh
Bachchan at an awards do,as he scurried,obviously to avoid her.Elsewhere,when cricketer Harbhajan
Singh lifted Nita Ambani after winning a match at IPL,the spontaneous act was up in the public domain for
all to dissect.So were Yuvraj and Preitys hug and newlymarried Dhoni-Sakshi frolicking at the beach.All
moments of joie de vivre,out there on the public domain for the world to savour.
As communication devices become smaller,more portable,easily concealed and accessible to the general
public,the chances of their clandestine application have inc r e a s e d manifold.Today,the fear of being
stalked,taped and watched has become palpable,and our cultural fascination with voyeurism is fuelling a
fear psychosis,making us aware that any one of us could be the next victim.A senior columnist says,As
technology makes it easier to invade privacy,what is really worrisome is the non-consensual invasion of
privacy that people around the world have to deal with. A politician on condition of anonymity says,You
never know when and how an innocent dinner table conversation is turned into a salacious tape on
YouTube.Its become difficult for me to be vocal at social dos.I let my hair down only when I am with my
close friends. Actor and model Yana Gupta recently got a taste of the flip side of technology when she
was clicked without underwear at a charity event.
The privacy of an individual is under siege.Mumbai-based graphic designer Aarti Singh found out the hard
way.She was shocked to see her bikini-clad photographs taken on a beach holiday in Phuket in a friends
Facebook account.The friend,who was with Aarti in the same frame,nonchalantly ticked her off for being
prudish and uncool.
For Delhi-based tarot card reader Poonam Sethi,nemesis came in the form of a scandalous chain SMS
accusing her of running a prostitution racket.Whoever intended to hurt her achieved the goal;Sethis
reputation is tarnished forever.Says adman Prahlad Kakar,Revenge has become easy in the age of
instant communication.One is putty in the hands of mischief makers.On 
the good side,anybody can blow the whistle on crime and corruption. 
For a with-it generation,to stay connected means putting up snapshots of life on the Net,sharing means a
mezze of photographs for all to see.From a boss losing his cool,a surreptitious drinking binge,to someone
picking their nose in public,theres nothing left unseen.Says Dibakar Banerjee,director of Love,Sex and
Dhokha,Nothing is private anymore.In the West,celebs are notorious for publicity stunts.Indians are
adding this trend to their fake existence,not thinking about the consequences. 
Are we constantly censoring ourselves out of fear Amitabh Bachchan blogs how he has his own camera
van trailing him,recording every byte he gives.Its your version vs mine, h e w r i t e s.Even in c o r p o -
rates and companies,m o b i l e phones are barred from i m p o r t a n t meetings,lest conf idential matters
are taped or filmed.Says marketing consultant Pooja Gupta,For MNCs,any kind of data related to strategy
is crucial.Employees are barred from carrying official laptops out of the premises,mobile phones are to be
left behind during important meetings. 
An employee of a corporate espionage firm reveals how five-star hotels are the biggest hub for pilferage
of data.In another instance,a noted journalist tells us how uncomfortable she was while having a
conversation with a publicist from PR honcho Nira Radias firm right after Radias expose as a lobbyist.I
kept wondering if my phone was being tapped.You feel nauseated at the idea of your privacy being
invaded,even if it is an innocuous conversation, she says.
From innocuous instances of trying on a dress in a changing room to a mundane conversation with an ex-
colleague,the common mans fear of being stalked is palpable.Image guru Dilip Cherian,highlighting the
ugly side of technology says,As a society,we are becoming more transparent,but at the cost of trust.As
every minute detail of our lives comes under scrutiny,we dont know who to trust. 
In India,the Section 66E IT Act,2000 recognises the right to protect the human body from unreasonable
and obscene intrusion by surreptitious video technology.But according to lawyer Devika Singh,Theres no
protection for those who have been unknowingly featured in social networking sites in offensive and
embarrassing situations. 
Tempted to check your vital stats in a changing room or scratch in the elevator Beware! Its a jungle out
there and technology has become the predator.For some,its cool to be all over the place,but for others,the
scars are everlasting indrani.rajkhowa@timesgroup.com
  
Close call: Amitabh walks away from Rekha 

 
Getting naughty: Barack Obama at the Summit;Sarkozy looks amused 

Ektas next,DPS sex MMS! 

After Love Sex Aur Dhoka,Ekta Kapoor set to make film inspired by the Delhi school scandal 

TNN 

In her Love,Sex Aur Dhokha,Ekta Kapoor showed a man having no qualms taping his girlfriend during an
act of sexual intimacy and then selling the clip for money.This time,she is going a step higher.Her next
films plot too revolves around sex MMS.Its inspired by the 2004 DPS schools sex scandal,in which a girl
was caught on camera during a sexual act and the video was made into a porn film that was circulated
widely on the internet as well as roadside pirated CD vendors.
A top trade source close to the development of the movie reveals,There will be enough clear references
to suggest that it is the same sex scandal that Ekta is referring to.We are not too sure whether they will be
bold enough to clearly announce that it is the DPS scandal as it might lead them to legal
complications.We also hear that Ekta is planning to introduce a horror element in the film. Titled Raginni
MMS,the movie will go on floors in December.When contacted,Ekta said it is a sensuous paranormal
thriller that will be shot much like the acclaimed Paranormal Activity.It is definitely based on a sex scandal
but it would not be entirely true to say that it is the DPS MMS that we are talking about.As of now,we dont
want to talk much about the project as plans are still being firmed up and we are getting into casting. She
added,It is again based on a real life incident about an MMS gone wrong.However,it has a horror quotient
to it as we have got a person whose MMS lands her into unforeseen horrors. PG