India: Muslim Women Journalists, Activists, And Other Professionals Sexually Targeted Online. CFWIJ Demands Accountability Of Those Responsible.
Location: India, New Delhi
Date: July 13, 2021
A website targeting Muslim women including those in the news media industry was discovered earlier this month and was eventually taken down after public outrage. The website, titled “Sulli Deals” consisted of profiles of at least 90 different women who were “on sale”. Men would subsequently “bid” on these profiles to harass the women. Although a comprehensive list of all women on the site has not been made public in order to ensure the privacy of those targeted, several women have come out in condemnation. Among them was ThePrint’s Senior Correspondent Fatima Khan whose profile was up on the website.
The outrage against “Sulli Deal” immediately became widespread after a Twitter user who goes by “K” tweeted about its presence.
Somebody made an app of 'Sulli Deals' which has twitter handle of so many Muslim girls. You are one tap away from finding the girl as your deal.
— K (@madeforbrettLEE) July 4, 2021
That app has our pictures and our names.
The motto of the app says, 'community driven, open source project' pic.twitter.com/Rc2vyynRMy
“Sulli” is a slur used by right-wing Hindus against Muslim women, and the website is believed to be an organized effort to harass the women of Muslim community in India by right-wing Indian trolls. While most of the women mentioned on the website were Indian, it also included several Pakistani names. Freelance political commentator Zainab Sikander Siddiqui and journalist Fatima Khan of ThePrint India were among those targeted. Fatima took to Twitter to register her shock at the incident.
Didn't check Twitter last night. Woke up this morning to realise my name, along with those of many other Muslim women was up on GitHub as a list of "Sulli Deals". Thankfully by the time I came across it, it had been taken down. But just the screenshots sent shivers down my spine. pic.twitter.com/CGXivEyjyC
— Fatima Khan (@khanthefatima) July 5, 2021
How is this acceptable? What will be the punishment, if any, meted out to the people who made this list? Muslim men are lynched, Muslim women are harassed and sold online. When will this end? @github @NCWIndia
— Fatima Khan (@khanthefatima) July 5, 2021
Soon after, the Editor Guild of India came out to condemn the incident. The statement issued by the organization claimed that, “The vile attack is symptomatic of underlying misogyny in some sections of society especially against Muslim women as well as those who have been outspoken critics of the current government.”
The Editors Guild of India considers it reprehensible that images of women journalists and other professionals from minority community were posted online and shared over social media, in a denigrating manner, putting them “up for auction”. pic.twitter.com/HIm1Oos1c5
— Editors Guild of India (@IndEditorsGuild) July 7, 2021
host. In a statement given to ThePrint, a company spokesperson clarified that, “GitHub has longstanding policies against content and conduct involving harassment, discrimination, and inciting violence. We suspended user accounts following the investigation of reports of such activity, all of which violate our policies.”
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is appalled at the incident and demands an immediate investigation initiated against those behind the website. This is blatant misogyny combined with deep seated Islamophobia. It reprehensibly targets one of the most politically vulnerable groups in India. The connection of such behaviour to the current of the rhetoric of the Indian state cannot be ignored. While it is obvious until now that no state official endorsed this incident, it is equally true that recently the Indian state has allowed right wing extremists to act with complete impunity in the region putting the safety of religious and other minorities at considerable risk. As equal citizens of the state, Muslim women have a right to dignity and security and the state must ensure these rights if it wishes to retain its claim on the democratic principles.
The CFWIJ strongly condemns the police brutality against journalists. We demand the immediate return of the press cards seized from the security forces. Policies to intimidate journalists should be abandoned, and journalism should be practiced under the criteria of freedom of the press.
If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.