India: UN Rights Experts Expressed Concern Over The Death Threats Against Journalist Meena Kotwal
Location: India
Date: April 14, 2022
A group of United Nations rights experts wrote to the government of India, expressing their concern over the death threats against Dalit journalist Meena Kotwal and drawing attention to the lack of attention of the police. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) is also deeply concerned about Meena’s safety. We demand the Indian government take the necessary measures and ensure the journalist’s safety.
The UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights Defenders and other UN experts said they wrote a letter to the Indian government on February 3, 2022, regarding the matter. They revealed that they kept the letter confidential for 60 days before being made public. During the time, the Indian government was expected to issue a statement, however, the UN said that the government did not respond to the letter.
According to the Wire, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor; Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye; Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Fernand de Varennes; and the Working Group on the discrimination against women and girls, the members of which include Melissa Upreti (chair), Dorothy Estrada-Tanck (vice-chair), Elizabeth Broderick, Ivana Radačić and Meskerem Geset Techane were among those signatories who raised the concern about Meena’s safety.
In the letter, UN human rights experts expressed their serious concerns that the threats and harassment of Meena Kotwal was a deliberate and prolonged smear campaign. The letter described the threats toward the journalist were particularly alarming because the threats were “in direct retaliation for the exercising of her right to freedom of opinion and expression online”.
The letter further noted that the threats against Meena were "violations of international human rights law and standards" because the journalist was "disproportionately subject to various forms of discrimination and violence" and "highly marginalized" as a woman and a member of the Dalit community.
On December 25, Dalit journalist Meena Kotwal recorded herself burning the “Manusmriti” on Twitter. The tweet caused much uproar among right-wing Hindu groups. Many Hindus believe that the “Manusmriti” is ancient religio-legal text and thus an essential part of the Hindu canon, while others believe it to be upholding caste and gender discrimination in the society. Through her act, Meena was commemorating the “Manusmriti Dahan Divas” (Manusmriti Burning Day), first observed by Dr. B. R Ambedkar, the author of the Indian constitution, who believed that the document perpetrated caste-based division in society.
The reaction to the tweet was violent, with Hindutva nationalistic groups like Bajrang Dal, Karni Sena, and Vishwa Hindu Parishad at the forefront of an organized online attack. One of the messages she received threatened her with “suffering the same fate as Gauri Lankesh” (a Dalit woman journalist who was shot and killed in 2017). While other messages informed her that her number has been widely circulated on the Whatsapp network maintained by right-wing Hindutva groups and she should be prepared for relentless attack. When Meena tried to register an official complaint with the police department, they refused.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism joins all concerns of the UN rights experts and demands a swift response to those questions regarding death threats against Meena. We are extremely concerned for the safety of Meena Kotwal. Authorities need to immediately act on the matter to ensure her safety and by extension the safety of the press and democratic values in the country.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism 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. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system 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.
If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.