Harassment of women and public reaction

Recently a woman was harassed in a public bus by a person. When she protested, the other passengers argued with her in favour of the alleged assaulter. At one point, they even blamed the victim.
Women face such harassment almost every day in public transports, gatherings and crowded spots. Often they keep mum. When some of them do protest, they are shut down tacitly by others around her.
Though we are living in a modern era, most people in our country are embarrassed to speak up or take actions against such incidents. They like to maintain their silence and ignore such situations.
But this is not the solution! If we want to stop child rape, harassment and disrespectful behaviours towards women, children and minors, we need to change such public perceptions. Awareness should be created from family, academic and other social levels. Mantasha Ahmed Shomoyeta,
East West University,
Dhaka.
[email protected]