Catcalling - vulgar, cheap and disrespectful

Women in Bahrain – be they Bahrainis or expatriates – have to endure street harassment on a day-to-day basis.

Most victims suffer silently avoiding the risk of retaliating against the perpetrators. These incidents of jeering, catcalling, wolf-whistling or gawking do not reflect well on our society and demand swift and tough action from the authorities to make Bahrain a safer community.            
 “The problem has exacerbated over the last few years and there seems to be no sign of it abating,” says the 28-year old Bahraini girl, Fatima Habib who feels that these activities are compounded over the weekend when visitors from around the Gulf swarm to the island.
“Men who indulge in such crass behaviour come across as vulgar, cheap and disrespectful, which is certainly not a positive reflection on their personality.”
In most cases of street harassment, men are trying to attract attention to themselves by hooting or catcalling at female passerbys.
Anna Mercado, a 38-year-old Filipina working in a human resource company, complains of street harassment on a daily basis.
She lives in an apartment building in Ras Ruman, near Hoora, and walks back and forth to her Exhibition Road office in Manama and says that she feels helpless and vulnerable when harassed.
“Cars full of young boys follow and shout out ‘how much’ and pass lewd comments. Most times I retort with angry comments or tell them that I am noting their car plate number and informing the police after which they leave.”
But Anna says she has never informed the police because she doesn’t want to run the risk of jeopardising her job as she has to send money back for her two children in the Philippines.
 “Every woman walking down the street is not a prostitute,” she states vehemently. 
Some men have honed the art of ogling and jeering to a science. To them the female form in whatever shape, size, and age appears to exude a reaction that sends their male mind into frenzy. And it seems that the only way for them to divest it of such reaction is to catcall.
Men must possess some kind of strange optimism which makes them think that by doing so, a woman will stop in her tracks, thank him for his flattery, then sit in his car and drive into the sunset.
“It’s degrading, even if it is an admiring wolf-whistle I don’t appreciate the fact that a stranger should publicly react to my walking down the road. I don’t suffer from low self esteem which is why I don’t regard such an appreciation a boost for my spirits,” says Bella Mahran, a young Pakistani girl married to a Bahraini.
Although this phenomenon exits all over the world and Bella has been catcalled in England, Canada and the Gulf but feels distressed each time it happens. She notes that this kind of conduct is more conspicuous as weekend visitors from neighbouring countries flock to public places and even up market areas like Seef are not free from this scourge.
And it is not the question of how a woman is dressed. One would think that wearing an ‘abaya’ would not provoke such a reaction.
“Street harassment occurs when a woman is perceived as a sexual object and not as a human,” says Ebtesam Zaid, head of media, Bahrain Women’s Society (BWS).
“The best way to tackle this issue is to create awareness in the society and conduct workshops and seminars to inform women on how to tackle harassment and protect themselves against it. Women need empowerment to stand up to all sorts of harassment.
“Street harassment is an intrusion on a woman’s freedom to walk safely on the streets of Bahrain,” she states emphatically and says that respect for women is the core issue that needs to be addressed.
Street harassment and jeering provokes unease amongst women often causing then to act dumb to avoid contact.
In our survey 90 per cent of the women interviewed said that they don’t heed to catcalls as they don’t want to waste their energy on rude provocation which could have a potential of exploding into an unpleasant incident.
“By ignoring such acts I am actually defeating the harasser’s purpose of drawing attention to himself and consequently not giving him the power to have a dialogue with me,” says Maria James, a young Western expatriate living in Adliya.
Then there are others who do respond by glaring or uttering expletives back at the harasser.
Vibaka Anderson, a Scandinavian working in Bahrain, recounts a street harassment incident involving a friend who prefers to remain anonymous.
She said: “Two months ago a friend was walking down a road in Juffair when a car full of Arab men started heckling her and she responded angrily.
“The driver in return pulled up his car and tried to pull her inside. When she resisted she was punched in the eye but luckily escaped.
“She didn’t report the incident because she could not read the car’s number plate, it being in Arabic, and felt that without evidence nothing would be done about it.”
So how does one counter such acts?
Major Muhammed Bin Daina, director of Police Media, recommends reporting incidents involving street harassment to prevent the offender from repeating such offences. “There is a penal code law regarding catcalling and street harassment,” he said.
Under Article 351, an offender can face up to three months in jail and a fine of BD30.
Major Bin Daina added: “If victims of harassment report the incident to police with the registration number of the car then we will track down the offender and investigate the matter. In case the car does not have a local Bahraini number plate, we will provide the details to the police of King Fahd Causeway to take necessary action against the driver when he is entering or leaving the kingdom.
“We recommend calling 999 with the complaint and in case of a serious situation they should ask for the rescue of the nearest police patrol.”
Saba Al Asfoor an active member of Bahrain’s Women’s Society, said: “Our society and culture generally points a finger at women who are being harassed and holds them responsible for it.
“The general perception being that maybe they are not dressed properly or are attracting attention to themselves. But women are actually the victims and should not be judged.
“This issue needs to be discussed at all levels and it should be brought to the forefront. Awareness is the only way to tackle this menace.”
Ms Habib remembers an incident when she was a teenager attending Isa Town Secondary Commercial School. Young boys regularly drove past the school at the end of the day and called out to the girls.
“This became a norm outside the school and a nuisance for parents, girls and school authorities. One day – probably at the behest of the school authorities – the police arrived and took the boys in and shaved off their heads. Those boys were not seen outside the school for a while.”
Gawking, honking and catcalling is a rude invasion of a woman’s right to freedom and a nuisance for anybody walking down the street.
It puts members of society in a vulnerable position and infringes on their right to a safer existence within the community.
Street harassment is a form of objectifying women and should not be brushed aside as innocuous.
l Whether you are an expatriate woman or a Bahraini, the next time you are being harassed on the street call the police helpline 999 with the car registration number.

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By Asma Salman
asma.salman@gulfweekly.com