Public Harrasement ain't a Compliment

Everyone is entitled to safety despite race , gender and age. One needs to feel safe both in private and public places.


 Women and young girls should be able to feel comfortable and safe in public places without the fear of being harassed by the opposite sex.


Public or street harrasement is another form of abuse that women suffer on a daily bases on the hands of their male counterparts. This type of abuse is so rampant that even the perpetrators don't know that it is abuse and in some cases the women themselves do not know that cat calling and all other forms of street harrasement are an act of violence that should be reported.


This problem emanates from the patriarchal socities that we grew up in, communities that socialised us to believe that women are sexual objects that are meant for the satisfaction of men. This has made men to believe that they have some type of control over women's bodies to such an extent that they comment about female bodies in public.


From the unwanted whistling, sexist comments and persistent request for someone's name, phone number or destination every woman has experienced public harrasement at one point.


 Funny thing is the authorities let it go unpunished most of the times which leads me to think that they themselves do not even have a clue on what public harrasement is or its effects on the victim. It is very common for a woman to pass through a rank for instance and receive those unwanted compliments from touts and you will find a police officer standing by and not doing anything , what's even worse is they might also join in the harrasement. Whom then are women supposed to go to with cases of public harrasement.


This is just an example of how clueless our society is when it comes to issues of public harrasement. We have had cases of women being harrased in public places, having their clothes torn and trust me women were also part of those who instigated that type of violence.


This goes to show how much work the society has when it comes to educating people about public harrasement both men and women. It's high time our society understands that cat calling is not a compliment it is harrasement. Everyone needs to be educated so that we help each other in creating a public harrasement free society.


It is everyone's duty to castigate public harrasement. The late iconic Zimbabwean Musician Oliver Tuku Mutukudzi did just that in his song Psss Psss Hello that was realeased in 1990. In the song , the musician is addressing men who are in the habit of cat calling something that is totally uncalled for.


Feministry.

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