Does Sexual Harassment Exist at Institute you Study? Yes it does!

Say No to Sexual Harassment

(Keeping names confidential I would rather focus on the actual story happened)

After completing college everyone tries level best to get into a well-known university and I am the lucky one to get admission in my desired university. Everything started very well and life was going smooth but in my last semester (7th Semester) when my accounting teacher started harassing me I decided to end up my life. My accounting concepts are weak and I have hardly cleared those courses, I thought to discuss this issue with my course faculty who always offered his help to ones who are suffering.

Keeping that thought in view I went to his office which is located in the basement of building and no security guard was on round. By knocking the door I entered his room and he asked me to sit, while my both hands were on table and started telling him that I am facing difficulty in topic which he taught in class, he suddenly put his hand on my hand and said calm down. I felt really bad by his bad touch and thought to leave the room as soon as possible and immediately took my hands off from table.

I looked back at the wooden door with partial glass space covered with paper so no one can see inside. Now I felt completely uncomfortable and tried to leave his room urgently then a fellow student entered to submit her assignment so I thought to leave the room in that moment. I successfully left his room and very next day in his class he took a surprise quiz which covered the same topic I went to understand. I scored 1 out of 5 and thought to discuss with him, but suddenly his bad touch came in my mind and let it go. In his next class he asked those who scored less than 3 to visit his office and discuss the issue and he particularly pointed my name with all 5 to 6 announced.

I was not going to his office but then i had to pass the course as well but this time i played smartly and went with my best friend without telling her the reality. While entering the room he asked to sit and looked at my friend and said, “Why you are here?” she replied “i just came with her and have no query”. He asked her to leave and now i was scared. I tried to text her so she may stand outside the room but message sending was failed due to no network in basement area. He started conversation by saying “I can fix your bad marks” i asked how? He replied, “You have to compromise”. I was full of anger and thought to slap him but i did not want to create any controversy at institute and even i belong to a very conservative family where girls are not allowed to study more. I am the only girl of my family who is about to graduate.

I came outside his room and kept quiet and even did not share with my best friend. I had no option left other than to drop his course. Deadline to drop the course without penalty had crossed and i wasted 13,900 (precious earning of my retired father). I don’t want to defame my university on such platform because it would harm my image as well. But what university can do is to have glass doors of every faculty room so people could easily see inside and such frustrated faculty may never dare to treat anyone like he did to me.

Now i am in my last semester and about to graduate by spring 2018 and have a very good male faculty who is teaching the same course i dropped and now i am not facing any difficulty to learn the concepts. The reason why i am sharing the experience of my current accounts teacher is that all the men are not of same type and even i am not a feminist who want to criticize men. If i have any difficulty in understanding concept i am fearless of going to his office. What i was taught that a teacher is just like a father/mother but such person like my previous account teacher is defaming the spirit of teaching profession.

All those girls who stop studying or face difficulty are not open to disclose harassment with anyone just like me and i can say that harassment does exist at every level because black sheep are everywhere. It’s not a gender who is responsible for it; it’s a character which is responsible.

This can be stopped by placing a transparent doors and glass windows. Faculty should not be allowed to blur the glass. If possible than CCTV must be installed in rooms to stop harassment, because a girl like me can never share this problem at home. even if i do so my family would stop sending me to university and soon they will fix my wedding. i want to study more and stand on my feet and even support my father who has recently retired because i want to prove that “Betiyan bhi beton jesi hain”