Marvi Sirmed: Online and Physical Attacks
Timeline of Events
2016
June 13
Marvi Sirmed, a senior journalist and human rights activist in Pakistan, was threatened with rape during a panel debate on the Nadia Mirza Show, a current affairs program broadcast on News One.
2018
June 22
The break-in into columnist and activist Marvi Sirmed’s house and its ransacking were the one in the series of intimidation, threats and violence to those who uphold democratic values and are critical of the security establishment.
2019
March 29
CFWIJ Member Marvi Sirmed became the target of a new online campaign that is spreading misinformation and inciting people to violence against her. Sirmed was incorrectly linked to a news story about incest. The account that posted the campaign on Facebook goes by the name of Saqib Hussain, started off with installing a false claim that Sirmed brought 10 homeless people to Islamabad and encouraged them to participate in incestous acts. The account is followed by more than 225,000 people.
2020
March 4
Journalist Marvi Sirmed was verbally attacked during a live talk show for her feminist views. A local playwright Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar used abusive language against her. Trolls siding with Khalil later targeted Marvi online, resulting in a barrage of online abuse.
March 7
Following scriptwriter Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar’s verbal abuse against activist Marvi Sirmed, her phone number and email address have been leaked online. Taking to Twitter, Sirmed shared that she has been getting rape and murder threats and been asked to sell sex.
March 11
A local citizen has moved court for the registration of a case against Marvi Sirmed and TV anchor Ayesha Ahtesham.
March 23
Marvi Sirmed, Pakistani journalist and the human right defender is attacked online for her comments about the state’s practice of enforced disappearance in Balochistan.
