eve-teasing

n. harassment of, or sexually aggressive behavior toward, women or girls. Subjects: English, India, Pakistan, Sex & Sexuality

Etymological Note: The term most likely references the biblical Eve, the supposed first woman.

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Citations: 1960 Times (London, England) (Apr. 22) “Protection For Indian Girl Students” (in Delhi, India) p. 9: One aspect of the problem of student indiscipline which is plaguing university authorities in India has been the bullying and harassment of girl students in the few coeducational institutions—a pastime so common that it has been given the name of “Eve-teasing.”…“Eve-teasing” is not, apparently, just the oafish high spirtis or illwill of a handful of male students but is rather a symptom of the strong resentment which many students feel against women in the universities. 1963 Selig S. Harrison Washington Post, Times Herald (D.C.) (Oct. 26) “The Sad State Of India’s Youth” p. A8: Police officials have been discovering that the collegiate enthusiasts who prowl streets in Indian cities are not content to watch the girls go by. Indian newspapers have carried accounts of police roundups in Srinagar, Dehra Dun and other centers for indecent advances at bus stands and traffic intersections.…Happy headline writers have dubbed the new offense “Eve-teasing.” 1974 T.K. Oommen Asian Survey (Sept.) “Student Politics in India: The Case of Delhi University” vol. 14, no. 9, p. 787: Goondaism refers to anti-social behavior of persons who generally indulge in violent and other “illegitimate means” to get things done.…While their student friends go to the classes, they sit in coffee houses or on lawns of the University and indulge in “eve-teasing.” 1978 Ursula M. Sharma Man (June) “Women and Their Affines: The Veil as a Symbol of Separation” vol. 13, no. 2, p. 232: To snatch a girl’s dupatta is one of the forms of “eve-teasing” which occurs on many a school bus. 1984 Guardian (U.K.) (Oct. 2) “When the teasing had to stop” (in New Delhi): Buses in Delhi are notoriously the worst place for “Eve-teasing”—the Indian term which covers everything from sexual harassment, pestering, groping, whispered obscenities as well as light-hearted cat calls and equivalents of “hello darling.” 1986 Houston Chronicle (Texas) (May 4) “Girl-watching violates Islamic dictates in Pakistan” (in Islamabad, Pakistan) p. 15: Eve teasing or “Eve watching” is watching or trying to meet women, and both are illegal in Pakistan. 2005 Times of India (Apr. 25) “Men at Work”: “Eve-teasing,” a peculiarly Indian euphemism for lewd taunting, was one indignity visited on women on the streets.

Posted 28 Apr 05 | Permalink | Tell a Friend

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