ONLINE HARASSMENT IN SOUTH ASIA AND ITS EVOLUTION INTO PHYSICAL ATTACKS T R 9 1 O 0 P 2 E R [email protected] wwww.womeninjournalism.org | Twitter: @CFWIJ ONLINE HARASSMENT IN SOUTH ASIA AND ITS EVOLUTION INTO PHYSICAL ATTACKS This report was developed with the support of Craig Newmark Philanthropies. Data, research and writing: Rabia Mushtaq Editing and Review: Kiran Nazish and Luavut Zahid Design: Damla Tarhan [email protected] | wwww.womeninjournalism.org | Twitter: @CFWIJ TABLE OF CONTENTS About us 4 Introduction 5 State of online harassment across South Asia and threats of physical attacks 6 Statistics and data collected by The Coalition For Women In Journalism 7 Pakistan in focus 7 Threatened by ruling government and military establishment 10 Asma Shirazi 10 Marvi Sirmed 11 Gul Bukhari 12 Mariana Babar 13 Threatened by ruling government 14 Gharidah Farooqi 14 India in focus 16 Attacked for supporting Kashmiris 17 Barkha Dutt 17 Attacked for critique on ruling government and Hindu nationalism 18 Rana Ayyub 18 Nidhi Razdan 19 Swati Chaturvedi 19 Dhanya Rajendran 20 Radhika Iyer 20 Gauri Lankesh 21 What does the rest of South Asia depict? 23 What are the leading social media companies doing? 34 How women journalists are crusading and what needs to be done? 35 [email protected] | wwww.womeninjournalism.org | Twitter: @CFWIJ ABOUT US The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world, and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. Our network of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive. This report was made possible with support from The Craig Newmark Philanthropies. Data, research and writing: Rabia Mushtaq Editing and Review: Kiran Nazish and Luavut Zahid Design: Damla Tarhan [email protected] | wwww.womeninjournalism.org | Twitter: @CFWIJ INTRODUCTION The digital era has introduced vast opportunities for journalists across the world. In a world where people are just a click away from getting the latest news, journalists also find technology and social media innovation beneficial for their work. However, the digital era also puts journalists in a difficult position due to which they face their fair share of issues, particularly women journalists, who are vulnerable to online harassment and abuse across the world. Women journalists are far more visible in the era of the internet and become an easy target of online abuse and harassment by attackers, who may have different motives behind the attacks, due to their gender.If observed closely, online harassment of women journalists is the outcome of various motives in different parts of the world. In some countries, harassers, trolls and bullies attack them solely based on their gender, while at other places, they are victims of political maneuverings, religious extremism, surveillance by military and intelligence.Through this report, The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) aims to find out how grave the situation is for women journalists in various South Asian countries when one emphasizes on the threats they face in the digital sphere, which could potentially also creep up into their physical spaces; how the women journalists in the region cope with online harassment; whether they fear its physical repercussions offline; what drives online harassers to attack them; the effectiveness of legal systems in South Asian countries and the role of social media companies to curb online harassment. STATE OF ONLINE HARASSMENT ACROSS SOUTH ASIA AND THREATS OF PHYSICAL ATTACKS In the past few years, the South Asian region has witnessed an upsurge of online attacks on women journalists. Women journalists are called names, curses and slurs are casually directed towards them, their social media posts are taken out of context, their faces are morphed to be misused, inappropriate memes and videos are made using their photographs, and they are addressed with the most obnoxious labels for simply having an opinion of their own. However, what’s worse is that these attacks aren’t just limited to the online space. In fact, these women journalists are at a risk of bearing the brunt offline, as well. They fear for their safety within their surroundings twice as much as they do on the internet. Online attacks often increase the risk of these women journalists being attacked offline as well. Threats to their physical being increase manifold, particularly if an attacker openly declares to kill or rape them through an online post. 19.6% of the cases involved online harassment overall. STATISTICS AND DATA COLLECTED BY THE COALITION FOR WOMEN IN JOURNALISM Between January and September 2019, PAKISTAN IN FOCUS CFWIJ documented 164 cases of online harassment of women journalists across the world. The data collected by CFWIJ Being a woman journalist in Pakistan — also found out that India and Pakistan particularly those who cover politics — is were among the five worst countries for a very challenging job. For a woman to women journalists in the world. We found question and gather information about that 19.6% of the cases involved online the country’s political climate or even harassment overall, and of this portion, share views in the context of religion South Asia accounted for 16.1% of all acts as an invitation to her being open cases. The attacks on many of these to incessant trolling and harassment by journalists were not only online but also those who may have taken offence due crept into the offline spaces. In Pakistan, to her journalistic work. online trolling takes a more cancerous form altogether. We documented massive attacks on three of our members early in The current situation of press freedom the year, including Marvi Sirmed, Asma in the country is also at an all-time high Shirazi and Gharidah Farooqi. with journalists, particularly women journalists, attempting to self-censor their opinions and work. MANY WOMEN Pakistan also happens to be one of the most patriarchal and misogynistic JOURNALISTS HAVE countries, not just in South Asia, but also in the world. Prevalent sexism and gender RECEIVED ONLINE bias also makes it very difficult for women THREATS. to do their jobs without being scrutinized and vilified. Women journalists are subjected to online abuse for their gender, Many of the famous women journalists, as their attackers find it easy to tow their who are known for their commentary personal lives into the work they do, if they and analysis on various political and aren’t willing to agree with their views on religious issues, conduct their own various issues. Men are often at the helm television shows, hence making them of tweeting and posting inappropriate public figures and susceptible to comments and content against women unsolicited attacks online. Trolls and journalists, who are in some way or the harassers find it legitimate to publicly other challenging the patriarchal and harass these journalists, particularly chauvinistic fabric of the Pakistani society. using social media platforms, if they do Many women journalists encounter abusive not agree with their political and slurs online and become victims of religious ideologies, the women character assassination by their offenders journalists encounter threats of rape and sitting behind the computer screen. murder. Those who are opinionated about their views on the state and establishment’s interference in a civilian government’s machinery end up becoming targets of state sponsored trolls and attackers online. Many such journalists who have openly condemned the military’s intrusion in Pakistan’s democratic set-up have seen their physical spaces being violated by various entities including the intelligence and law enforcement personnel in civilian garbs, as well as faced malicious campaigns against them. While others have also received online threats for merely sharing facts related to issues at hand. The following case studies have been categorized with respect to being under scrutiny and surveillance by the ruling government, political parties, military establishment, and paid political trolls. The current situation of press freedom in the country is also at an all-time high with journalists, particularly women journalists, attempting to self-censor their opinions and work. 16.1% of the cases were counted in South Asia. THREATENED BY RULING GOVERNMENT AND MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT ASMA SHIRAZİ Asma, a senior Pakistani anchorperson, journalist and CFWIJ member, has been maligned and derided for simply doing her job. The online attacks against her have turned into physical attacks twice in July 2019.This summer, two break-ins at Asma’s home in Islamabad left her concerned about her security and that of her family, especially her children. The first break-in took place when she was abroad and the other took place after she was back. Both the break-ins were eye-witnessed, after which they were reported and assessed by the police. The incidents were an act of intimidation to silence the Asma for her journalistic work and brazen opinions on political matters, and raised concerns about her safety.Last year, bullies and trolls attacked and harassed Asma over false allegations. She was targeted in a smear online campaign after she was reporting the arrival of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz, ahead of their surrender to the National Accountability Bureau in July 2018, a few days before the general elections in Pakistan. Asma was performing her journalistic duties in the same flight that carried the father daughter duo and consequently received a lot of criticism. She was called a ‘lifafa journalist’ — a term loosely used for journalists receiving bribes for their reporting — among several other abusive comments.