Bini Dahal

It is distressing that many minor girls in Nepal have now been the target of sexual harassment. So, it would not be wrong to say that such cases have outnumbered other social crimes. The so-called responsible adults have been found coercing and exploiting young girls for their personal pleasure. This is really a horrible scenario.
A recent incident is associated with a 56-year-old teacher who was found sexually harassing his 7th grader student in Letang of Morang district.

Apparently, the teacher had visited the student’s house on Holi to abuse her. The child then had informed the school authority about the teacher’s misbehaviour. As the news got out in the public, the angry villagers surrounded the school. The mob had tried removing the teacher from the school and beat him up. The protest was so much so that police had to be mobilised to intervene.

However, the agitating group was trying to take matters into their own hands. While attempting to control the crowd, a female police constable was forced to lose her life in the clash. The mob had stabbed her in the neck and she was pronounced dead immediately upon reaching the hospital.

In regard to the sexual harassment case, we are well aware that abuse can be very mentally damaging to an individual- be it an adult or a child. However, the intensity is much higher in the case of a child. This can pose as a medium of lifetime scarring. Researches have shown how acts of sexual exploitation can lead to worsened emotional state and mental wellbeing. Teachers are considered the second parents of a child. Their main duty is to help a child grow, develop and excel in their school life. But the middle-aged man here has turned into a perpetrator, trying to destroy a young girl’s life.

The teacher might have thought he could do anything as the victim is a young girl. Her may also have felt confident that the child would not reach out to anyone. The issue with most sexual harassment cases is the perpetrators’ choice and their need to feel powerful by acting inhumanely against the weak.

Now, regarding the death of the female constable what the villagers have resorted to is a scary matter. They are demanding justice for the child but have resorted to sacrificing the life of an innocent person. Basically, the fight for one person’s justice had led to the committal of another injustice.

From these unwanted incidents, we can draw a conclusion that it is the lack of a harsh punishment that has caused people to be so confident in committing such heinous crimes. Allegedly, the teacher had committed similar crimes six years back as well. And he had been forgiven by the school authority.

Let’s hope for a strict punishment and a fair judicial system. Not just the little child but the female police officer must get their fair share of justice. The mob should be punished for their actions, but most importantly the abuser needs to be put behind the bars. While all of these things go on, we rarely care about child psychology. This should be the utmost priority of the parents and relatives. In no way should the child’s future be destroyed.