Excuse me, can I talk to you?

ISLAMABAD - Be they shopping malls or market piazzas, residential localities or seemingly occupied avenues, the glimpses of young females, being chased by the ‘herds’ of notorious brats have become the more.
The incidents of female harassment are witnessing an alarming upsurge at every nook and corner. From young teenage girls to mature ladies, the phenomenon of eve teasing is resulting in the sense of insecurity to prevail deep among women.
The females from different walks of life including college, university students, hostelites and those working in professional sector shared their views with this correspondent regarding eve teasing. A few of them reported to have turned indifferent while majority seemed to be exasperated with the continuous harassment they face, the moment they step out of their homes.
“We had to cut our shopping plans on numerous occasions, thanks to some spoiled guys wandering here and there. Whenever we step out of our hostels, the only problem that we face besides transportation, is hooting and harassment,� said Sabira a university student and a hostelite in Rehmanabad.
Another student Tabassum mentioned that the issues related to sexual harassment had become a customary norm in Pakistani society. “In the past, such happenings were very rare, but now eve teasing is a routine matter. Females are harassed at almost every crowded market and bazaar, but nobody cares,� she added. Praising the strict ethical norms observed in her native town Attock, Tabassum stated, “People at my native town are so ‘ghairatmand’ that they teach a very grim lesson to those who tease girls. But in big cities, the situation is very different,� adding that her university remained ‘besieged’ by ‘heaps’ of eve-teasers. “You visit any girl’s college or university and you would find countless guys standing in groups outside the main gates of these institutions. It’s not a healthy practice,� students observed.
A female employee of a bank, demanding anonymity, came up with a distinct view regarding sexual harassment. “In my opinion, eve teasing does not merely imply outdoor harassments and hooting stuff, the extent of agony that working women undergo at their work places, all fall under eve teasing,� she stated.