What is in a 'teep'?

On 2 April, a lecturer of Tejgaon College, Lata Samaddar was harassed by police personnel in broad daylight for wearing a ‘teep’- an accessory commonly worn by women from the Indian sub-continent and elsewhere in the world. The incident occurred in Farmgate and was not limited to verbal abuse. The perpetrator, in response to her prompt protest, tried to run his bike over Samaddar

This is not the first time a woman has been harrassed in public for her attire, neither will it be the last. But this particular incident, and the conversations in its aftermath, reveals how far we have to go as a nation.

The lecturer filed a legal complaint against the perpetrator. Within a few hours, the incident took over the internet by storm and sparked heavy criticism both online and offline. Where several activists gathered in Shahbag to protest; a lot of other netizens male, female, and individuals from the transgender community posted their pictures on social media wearing ‘teep’ as a form of protest. Parliament member and renowned cultural personality Suborna Mustafa raised the

issue in the parliament and demanded immediate action against such harassment.

The accused, Nazmul Tareq was identified as a constable working at the protection division of police. The Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner informed the press that Nazmul was suspended after a confession and assured authorities will take appropriate action against him.

The reports say the police made inappropriate remarks towards Lata Samaddar in broad daylight for wearing something she holds close to her heart- a “teep”. She was assaulted, threatened for life, and injured. However, the victim did not file a complaint demanding the right to wear a ‘teep’. She filed a general diary for harassment and an attempt on her life.

When Suborna Mustafa spoke in the parliament she too denounced the very act of gender-based violence against women. In her words, “Eve-teasing is a very disgusting event for the women of Bangladesh”. She was disappointed that a law enforcement member committed this derogatory act who probably took an oath to protect every citizen of this country irrespective of their gender, race, colour, or age.

Despite strong economic gains, Bangladesh remains a unsafe country to live and work in for women and girls. Statistics and indices keep reflecting that gender-based violence and moral policing against women are on the rise. From home to workplace, public space to transport, women report feeling insecure. Harassing and abusing women in the name of culture, religion, and society has become a regular event.

Just this past January, Bangladesh Mahila Parishad marked the year 2021 as a year of violence for women. According to one of their reports, around 3073 women and forms of gender-based violence last year.

Though the government amended the century-old British law that allowed questing characters of rape victims, mass people are yet to get used to this new settlement. Women falling victim to any kind of harassment still has to undergo criticism regarding their clothes and character.

A study conducted by Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) this year revealed around 68 per cent of the people in our country believe women who do not follow social norms deserve criticism and 53per cent believe in case of rape or sexual harassment victims are to be blamed.

In March 2022 two videos went viral on social media. The first one showed a teenage girl beating her harasser on public transport for touching her inappropriately while the rest of the commuters either chose to remain silent or tried to normalise harassment. The other video shows another girl of similar age wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt choosing silence in the face of abuse. This time the abuser was another woman who accused her clothes to be a reason for child rape.

We do not need to understand the heavy calculations of patriarchy to realise defining and demeaning a woman for her clothes is a common phenomenon here.

Professor Lata Samaddar’s case was no different where the perpetrator felt it fit to disrespect and harass a woman for the choice of her outfit. And the outburst observed among people in the last few days was not a result of just one case.

It is time to acknowledge that the protest and the outrage were against the gender-based harassment that women and girls face on daily basis in our country where Lata Samaddar’s incident might be the tip of an iceberg.

The saddening part is having to explain why and how Lata Samaddar’s harassment case is equally significant to the ongoing economic unrest and not contradictory to each other as it is related to women’s safety in public space and their liberty of being comfortable in their own skin.

While we need to investigate how, when, and why an important issue of women’s safety got derailed and was reduced to merely wearing a teep, let’s see what Afghan women did in

the face of one of the worst humanitarian crises.

In our country, Lata Samaddar was not the first woman who was harassed for her outfit and if we do not talk about it now, she is not going to be the last either.

So, what’s in a teep? In this case, another excuse for violence against women and girls in a country that keeps failing to provide safety for half of its population.