Sexual harassment in public transports everyday affair

Sexual harassment should not be the part of one's travel, but this reprehensible act has become an everyday bitter experience for thousands of working female passengers and students who use public transport in a city like Dhaka, reports UNB.
These harassments range from inappropriate touching, penetrating stares, lewd gestures or comments and sex attacks, and the victims end up in powerlessness to protest.
Jasmin Papri, a working woman in the city, describes her experiences of travelling in public busses reminding many have to accept these low-level abuses silently. "Public buses have become spaces of sexual misconduct for some perverted male passengers," she says.
Papri is not alone. This correspondent talked to a dozen of female passengers who came up with the same unexpected stories.
"If you're a female passenger then you'll face numerous problems," she told the news agency mentioning that a female passenger means 'you touch her' in an inappropriate way.
She said she had to engage in war of words with passengers when she protested the indecent conduct of a fellow male passenger in a public bus. "It's not so easy to protest, as all male passengers might go against you together, but we shouldn't spare anybody."
Tamana Tanjila, a private university student, says she cannot describe in words what she has been facing every day in public busses.
"First of all, there's a negative attitude that drivers shouldn't take female passengers. If a female passenger gets into a bus, male passengers won't give her space to stand up at least. And when she tries to suit herself she'll come across unwanted touches for sure," she explains.
"Not that all passengers do this," Ripa, another passenger, says adding that bus helpers are also 'culprits'. "You can just see what they do in the name of help while getting down from busses."
She also says a crowded bus is no excuse for unwanted sexual contact or behaviour.
Advocate Salma Ali, Executive Director of Bangladesh Mahila Ainjibi Samity, acknowledges all these bizarre scenarios in public busses.  "You won't find anybody who isn't familiar with this unexpected experience. It's become a common problem now," she told the news agency.