Dr. Faizah Al-Hussein
Assistant Professor of English Linguistics.Omdurman Islamic University~Sudan.&Majmaah University~ KSA
Allah created angels with minds without desires, created animals with lust without reason, and created man and gave him minds and desires, whoever follows his true mind with angels and
whoever follows his true desires with animals. Glory be to Allah, what kind of human being is this bully, and the harasser? Is it deprived of human and moral qualities? Neither of humans nor animals is just a monster. Harassment and bullying define as unwelcome acts of a psychological, sexual, verbal, or physical type. This article deals with harassment and bullying toward women. It tried to find statistics from those interested in harassment and bullying, and I was told that it is difficult to find specific statistics. Bullying and harassment have no limits. There are many denied rights and violence against women, and this is evident violence, but the customs and traditions of some societies have kept silent towards them. The following is a review of each type and causes of harassment and bullying and proposals for solutions to reduce the two phenomena that concern the family and society.
Harassment is a form of unlawful racial discrimination against an individual. It may manifest itself as a form of physical, sexual, or psychological harm to others. Harassment has many shapes and may include one or more forms at one time. The following are some of the harassment types referred to by the specialists: a) to look closely and staring at someone’s body, b) facial expressions that reflect sexual intentions, c) whistling, whispering with sexual impression, d) sexual comments about someone’s body or clothes or the way someone walks and tells sexual jokes about him, e) following someone, either near him or from a distance, by walking or in a car, f) calling for sex through phones implicitly or overtly, g) unwanted attention, interference and contact h) keeps seeking for acquaintance and mingling, or making sexual demands in exchange for performing work or benefits, i) Giving gifts accompanied by sexual suggestion, j) Insisting to walk with someone or offers driving him to his home or work despite her/his refusal., k) send sexual photos through the Internet: Sending unwanted or offensive messages, messages, or pictures and videos via e-mail, instant messages, online social media that carry sexual suggestions or threats, l) touching, fumbling, getting close, or any unwanted sexual signals. m) Undressing by showing intimate parts in front of someone unwanted. n) Threats or any acts of intimidation of sexual harassment, such as rape. Moreover, Some people in Arabs countries thought that the main reason for sexual harassment is the indecent dress of some women, forgetting that the woman who wears modest clothes or wears the hijab, veil, or niqab, gets much from the verbal harassment who wears a short skirt.
As for bullying, Wikipedia defines it as an aggressive and unwanted phenomenon that calls for violence and aggressive behavior by individuals or individuals towards others. This phenomenon is more widespread among school students and characterized by repetition. It expresses the assumption of an imbalance of power and authority between persons, as individuals who practice bullying resort to using physical force to reach their desired goals from other individuals. Whether he is a bully or subject to bullying, he is exposed to severe psychological problems. Among the forms of bullying, unlike harassment, bullying moves away, a little from sexual assault to the following conditions: 1) taunting and insulting minds even if they are smart, 2) mocking the shape of some of their speaking style, such as the dialects of the rural guys, 3) they say jokes on some and make them topics for their sessions. Among the negative repercussions of bullying for some, they close themselves searching for safe havens and become apprehensive of society and afflict them to be present.
One of the stories of bullying that was told by a young man, who is from an Arab country, says: I fell under bullying because I thought about lengthening my hair and tying it to a band, people do not see this often on the street that is shaded by a “religious” conviction that whoever has lengthened his hair may imitate women, a belief that you will not find any trace of in the books and monuments, because the Messengers had thick, long hair hanging down. Then I went down our side street to buy dinner, hiding behind my muzzle(mask). Upon my return, I heard someone speak loudly from a balcony, “I have to divorce if you shave, and a put some makeup, I will ask for your hand from your father,” to answer him another voice coming from somewhere. I see that you better wear a scarf. ” Unconsciously, I found myself speeding up, I felt like a female trying to bury her head in the mud like an ostrich, every day, every night, and on an eternal escape from what I had never endured once in my life. I grieved for the condition of the women. When I went up to the house, I took off the band and decided to shave my hair before thinking about it. I was harassed! Were these two men homosexuals? Most probably not. He added the question remains; What drives two strange men to harass me?
I conducted interviews with some ordinary women and specialists in psychology about the causes of harassment and bullying. Some women attributed the matter to the lack of religious awareness, proper education, morals, and another added that the reason is to avenge, for an unbalanced education, and fear of the strongest. As for one of the men, part of his answer was strange, as he reported that some women enjoy harassment and bullying. As for the psychologists’ opinions, she added that the causes might be poverty, drug abuse, ignorance, raising methods, and others. And the last one answered it might be due to an intellectual and emotional emptiness, a lack of follow-up and observation of the mother from early childhood.
To conclude, harassment and bullying have adverse effects on the bully and bullied or harassed. The matter needs much in efforts to fight them by community awareness. Before it, family and school, as they have to enlighten girls and boys since childhood, the need to pay attention to the patterns of that behavior and alert them to inform their parents. The legislators must issue deterrent judgments about the bully and the harasser. The school has an important role that it must play, like hanging drawings of the bullying forms and harassment so that children get to know these actions and act about them and inform their family or the school immediately. As for the media, they must host psychologists, behaviorists, and women and child protection officials to explain their rights, enlighten them, and make the matter a topic to talk about openly. It is not a sin because these are negative behaviors that require treatment.
To conclude, the following are some suggestions for treatments start by a) women should protect themselves, believe in their strength, and be keen to be in a group of people, avoid being alone or returning home late, b) support her sisters and friends and vice versa, c) close the door of bullying and being preoccupied with religious and daily life’s issues, because the emptiness leads to igniting the spark of bullying, d) avoid words that lead to bullying and using the nice words and tenderness, e) the treatment should begin at home by providing a healing atmosphere and keeping its members away from financial and psychological crises; f) show emotional feelings to make a bully feels worthy and satisfy him/her desires and finally, g) keep a distance to avoid the outbreak of bullying.
