Downtown Sexual Harassment!
Muawad Mustafa Rashid
On a daily basis, I hear complaints from females using public transport about being subject to sexual harassment on their way to or from the workplace. Such complaints by those whom I know are almost similar to other stories I heard from other people.
This appalling and indecent practice usually occurs in public places including parks, bus stands, markets, and the vicinity of schools and colleges.
Sudanese females in general are shy and tend not to speak out about the daily sexual harassment they encounter even inside the public busses.
But the phenomenon is growing, especially in the above-mentioned places.
Accordingly, it is high time for concerned authorities to establish rapid response public order police forces to deal with the phenomenon.
The proposed forces should be well trained to crack down on individuals obsessed with such indecent behavior in public places through deploying them in some areas downtown, a great deal of sexual harassment complaints are being reported.
Of course, it would be better to recruit women police officers in the proposed rapid response squads.
Identifying repeated offenders and keeping a close watch on them is the key to preventing such crimes and misconduct.
As part of the plan, the rapid response squad should step up patrol certain areas during the hours when maximum complaints are reported and women police officers should visit all vulnerable locations to check whether are being sexually harassed and listen to complaints.
It would be better to organize seminars for female students and workers to create awareness on how to report sexual harassment-related offenses.
Social media also must be utilized for this purpose to post details of such obsessive offenders.
This proposal aims at preventing such crimes by strengthening the system and instilling confidence in women.
Public transport drivers and conductors should also be trained on how to deal with such offenders.
I am aware know some might consider my proposal as insignificant or rubbish the entire idea; but the million-dollar question is: Who can tolerate or live with injury to his daughter’s chastity and honor?
