Pakistan: The CFWIJ calls for the government to immediately ensure safety for women journalists facing an intense slew of threats online.
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August 25, 2020 -- Women journalists in Pakistan are campaigning against the online harassment they receive on a daily basis. However, the hate, abuse, trolling and threats have intensified in the aftermath of a joint statement and petition they shared over a week ago. Some of the journalists, including CFWIJ members Gharidah Farooqui and Marvi Sirmed, have been subjected to death threats and incessant abuse.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is furious and condemns the attacks on all the women journalists. We urge Pakistan’s government to take swift actions against those behind these threats and provide security to our members, as well as other women journalists who are being threatened on social media. Receiving death threats for exercising one’s right to free speech is not a joke and authorities must now act rather than resorting to mere promises.
Our member Marvi Sirmed jibed at the issue of missing persons in Pakistan via a tweet she posted on August 22. However, the tweet invited immense online hate, abuse and death threats onto her. People started to have her tried for blasphemy.
Blasphemy is in the eyes of beholder. My tweet doesn't insult any religion. But it certainly mocks Pakistan's dark forces that violate all norms of decency, constitution & law, by #EnforcedDisappearances murder and torture.
— Marvi Sirmed (@marvisirmed) August 22, 2020
Who are these dark forces? Penny for your guess! https://t.co/FsqwKIj0gR
This needs to stop! #WomenJournalists are being pulled into this and other forms of security breaches. This should be the concern of a government, to protect its journalists. Marvi is consistently targeted. Constant trolls are an impediment to their work. https://t.co/1HobnVCUcK
— Kiran Nazish (@kirannazish) August 24, 2020
Blasphemy accusations in Pakistan are serious in nature, as people try to misuse the law. Those accused often end up getting killed by random citizens rather than receiving fair judgements by the court. Marvi also tweeted about people trying to hack into her social media accounts.
And there start another mass attempt to hack my Twitter account. Getting p/w change notifications from @twitter every minute now. Dear losers, how will it even help you to hack my account? Duh.
— Marvi Sirmed (@marvisirmed) August 22, 2020
Gharidah tweeted in support of Marvi and wrote that she does not find anything wrong with the contents of her tweet. In retaliation to her tweet, she also started receiving hate. One person replied to Gharida’s tweet asking for her residential address, so that he could shoot 10 bullets into her head.
I’m sorry to know, Marvi, that you going all thru this again. Just got to know. For record, Marvi did not say anything wrong & I stand with her. https://t.co/w3WtwttKa3
— Gharidah Farooqi (@GFarooqi) August 24, 2020
Marvi is constantly threatened and abused on social media. Earlier this year, she was verbally attacked during a live talk show for her feminist views and received immense hate online in its aftermath. In 2019, Marvi was subjected to an orchestrated campaign with malicious accusations against her. Her house was also broken into and she was robbed off of her belongings, including Marvi and her family’s passports. Even though Marvi does not currently reside in Pakistan, but the threats she has been receiving are alarming nonetheless. Read the timeline of attacks on Marvi here.
Gharidah lives and works in Pakistan, which is why we are afraid that her security could be compromised. She has also been under the radar of maniacs online, who sent her death threats last year after she tweeted a fact about the Christchurch mosque shooter’s visit to Pakistan. She was deemed a traitor by so-called patriotic warriors online and was threatened to kill. Read the timeline of various attacks on Gharidah here.
CFWIJ is really concerned about the safety of all women journalists in Pakistan, who are constantly subjected to online harassment. However, receiving death threats shows the more heinous side of harassers who do not care about a person’s life and instigate other like-minded people in the process, both intentionally and unintentionally.
We demand Pakistan’s government to address the security concerns of women journalists in the country and request them to protect their dignity and life at all costs.
