Days after at least 34 girls of a hostel in Supaul, Bihar were thrashed by a mob for protesting against sexual harassment, a similar case from neighbouring Sahasra district has come to the fore.
Why did the girls stop going to school?
Less than a week after eve-teasers harassed two minor school girls while on their way to school, as many as 36 girls of Ekpadhaha village have decided to stop going to school. Reportedly, the village falls under the jurisdiction of the Simri Baktiyarpur police station and the girls have refused to go to their school unless the district administration ensures steps to protect them. According to India Today, the village to which the girls belong does not have a high school and hence, they have to travel over seven km to a high school, the DC Inter College.
Reportedly, girls on the way to their school have been subjected to lewd remarks and sleazy comments by perpetrators for some time now. Recently, two girls who were on their way to the school on their bicycle were stopped by their assaulters. One of the girl’s brothers who were present tried to fight the goons, however, he was badly bashed by the miscreants. This incident had created a sense of fear among the students and their family members.
The Times Of India reported one of the victims as saying that even though they had complained to the police, no immediate action had been taken. Moreover, when the villagers heard of the incident, the parents refrained their girls from allowing them to go to schools. On October 8, an FIR had been registered by the girl whose brother was thrashed.
Two of the accused have been arrested
Simri Bakhtiarpur SHO Ranveer Kumar said that after a complaint had been lodged against four people, the police have already arrested Md Kasim alias Nanhe (45) and Md Asif (27) on October 10 from Rajrani Express at Khagaria station. The other two accused are minors and the police are verifying the allegations.
The road the school girls take to go to their school is reportedly the only one and perpetrators would camp at the location just to harass the girls. News18 has reported Sub-divisional police officer Mridula Kumari as admitting that the schoolgirls had to endure psychological stress and kept from telling their parents. Moreover, police personnel have also been deployed along the road which leads to the school. Such moves have not much done to instil a sense of confidence among the villagers as one girl has even sought for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s intervention in the matter.
One of the girls told News18, “We confided in our friends, but decided not to tell our parents. We feared we might be stopped from going to school. But lately, it has become unbearable. They would confront us on the way and pass lewd remarks.”
Cases of sexual harassment and eve-teasing have become increasingly common in Bihar, if not in the entire country. So many girls, which reportedly include students of Class XII have stopped going to school fearing harassment. Not only are they missing out on important education, but the worsening situation highlights the plight of the girls who had to face such activities on a routine basis. The Logical Indian community urges the authorities to look into the matter and make the girls’ school-going experience a safe one.
