Pakistan: CFWIJ condemns the persistent trolling faced by political commentator Reema Omer

September 6, 2021, Islamabad: Political commentator Reema Omer was targeted with incessant trolling by supporters of the current government after her interaction with Dr. Yuen Yuen Ang. The issue concerned one of the books written by the professor that Reema had earlier referenced on her own account. Dr. Yuen Yuen Ang’s disagreement with her interpretation led to widespread trolling by those who do not appreciate Omer’s critical stance on the current state of affairs in the country.

In a tweet thread published by Reema Omer, Omer mentioned the concept of “access money” highlighting the complexities of the issue around corruption that the current government attempts to paint in terms of black and white. The Pakistani state has a history of using the prevalent corruption in the political system to target political opposition. Omer argued that the role of corruption in state level politics is a lot more complex that is being presented to the government, using the term “access money” to highlight how not all kinds of corruption are the same. 

Dr. Yuen Yuen Ang quoted Omer’s tweet clarifying her state on the concept of “access money” and indicating that she does not entirely agree with Omer’s interpretation of it. This resulted in an incessant trolling targeting Omer who already regularly receives abusive comments because of her critical stance on the current government. 

It has become extremely clear over the past few years that the micro-blogging format on Twitter is not conducive to nuanced debate on extremely academic issues. The tweets that Omer has received since also do not mean to constructively engage with the conversation she was having with the professor in the first place. As is with most conversations on Twitter, the conversation quickly spiralled into a hateful campaign against the political commentator without any engagement with the idea she presented. 

This is not unsurprising. The Pakistani digital space has become increasingly hostile, especially towards women journalists during the current government’s time in office. Women journalists in Pakistan issued a collective statement against the smear online campaign and trolling and presented their demands to address the issue over a year ago. The matter was addressed in the senate's committee but no substantial steps were taken to curb the pattern of intimidation. In fact, conditions have only grown worse since.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism extends solidarity to Reema Omer and urges the current government to introspect on the culture they have enabled on social media. It does not come as a surprise to anyone that not only was Omer’s professional credentials brought into question by those who did not engage with her argument at all, but the attacks on her were also gendered in nature. This is reprehensible behaviour that has been ongoing in Pakistan’s digital space for years now and requires urgent redressal.