Grace, the director of Wings, has made the comment that many of the girls at Wings are Eve-teased daily: on the bus, walking home, on the way to the village well to get water, and more. I found that term confusing and so I did a little research.  Eve teasing refers to the biblical Eve who, as the story goes, tempted Adam to stray from the path of righteousness.  The Oxford Dictionary definition of teasing is “to tempt someone sexually with no intention of satisfying the desire aroused”.  So, what Eve teasing means is that girls and women tempt men to do bad things by teasing them sexually — you know, by entering puberty and developing breasts — with no intention of following through. Eve teasing is used to describe a variety of male behavior: flashing, groping, suggestive comments and physical harassment. The behavior is brushed off as innocent, no big deal, just having fun, hormones, boys will be boys, and acceptable; it is not to be challenged.

Sometimes the Eve teasing takes an ugly turn and escalates to rape.  There have been many articles written about the “rape culture” in India fuelled by an acceptance of inequality and violence against women. Just as Eve made Adam sin, the underlying faulty belief is that women cause rape. If you haven’t seen it, watch the All India Bakchod YouTube video, “AIB It’s Your Fault”.  The video, showing Bollywood actresses in various states of being abused, is a satire challenging the erroneous rationale of blaming women for sexual assault.  At the end there is a banner, “Stop Blaming the Victim”.

Eve teasing and increasing sexual violence are powerful reasons why it is so important that the girls at Wings learn how to defend themselves. The Tae Kwon Do program has been a mandatory part of the curriculum at Wings since day one.  It turns out some of the girls are really good!  We are so proud that they are preparing to show their stuff at the India National Tae Kwon Do Championship. KAP has launched the “Kick like a Girl” Campaign to help finance their participation. We all hope that none of our girls are ever faced with a situation where they are threatened. However, the next time a girl from Wings is Eve-teased I know the boy who started it will think twice before he messes with her again.