September 14, 2020, Islamabad, Pakistan -- On September 10, brutal rape of a young woman sparked protests and discussions about women’s safety in Pakistan. Meanwhile, trolls and online criminals took to their keyboards to spew hatred, sexist slurs and rape “jokes” against journalist Marvi Sirmed for the umpteenth time.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) has documented several rape threats, verbal attacks and smear campaigns against the outspoken journalist since 2016. These attacks took place in real life as well over the years with two break-ins at Marvi’s home in Pakistan. 

During a recent online smear campaign, Marvi was attacked over her comments on enforced disappearances in Balochistan. Her tweet was taken out of context and she was attacked online, blamed with blasphemy by religious extremists.

Marvi, in a tweet on September 13, criticized some politicians’ tendency to involve religion into politics which again resulted in unacceptable attacks against her. She was called a “barking bitch” among many other slurs and was met with sexist verbal harassment with rape “jokes” so vile that calling them poor in taste is not sufficient. 

She was also subjected to misogynistic fat shaming insults, with lewd images used, referencing to the recent motorway rape incident. These attacks not only hurt Marvi reputation, but are also hurtful to women across the country, who are flabbergasted and rightfully angered by the rape culture which was exposed once again with the new notorious incident.

CFWIJ finds such online attacks that embody and encourage the rape and violence culture in Pakistan against women. The campaign #AttacksWontSilenceUs, which CFWIJ joined last month is one of many ways Pakistani women journalists have stood up against online violence designed to silence women’s voices in the country, especially those who speak truth to power.

We once again urge the authorities to swiftly investigate the people behind these attacks, prosecute them and take further action to ensure that this is never repeated again. We also call upon religious community leaders to educate themselves and their followers on online etiquette and decent manners to act in public, including social media.