Eve-Teasing and Gender Equality in the Post-Colonial Framework of India

Abstract

"Eve-teasing" is the colloquial Indian term for public sexual harassment against women that includes everything from catcalling, to physical molestation and assault. Based on the analysis of interviews this thesis explores how political and cultural perceptions of women and women's roles during colonialism, nationalism, partition, and modern times have contributed to the present existence of Eve-teasing and its repercussions on women. In the framework of history, culture, and gender studies, the thesis seeks to provide possible explanations for why men Eve-tease women. The thesis also discusses the effects of Eve-teasing on women's daily lives and the ways in which women rebel against patriarchal restrictions in order to avoid becoming victims. Furthermore, this thesis attempts to make way for further research on Eve-teasing, a subject about which there is currently very limited scholarship.