Our worst impulses

As many as 77% of women journalists have revealed that they have to self-censor in order to counter cyber-bullying

The Internet may have revolutionised our lives for the better in countless ways, but something about it also brings out the worst in us. The choice of anonymity and the umbrella of remoteness it affords let many users to give in to their nastiest impulses, amplifying some of the most repressive tendencies of any society. As with other ills, it is usually the marginilised segments of society that end up being the worst hit by such behaviour. In Pakistan, a disproportionate amount of online bullying and violence is aimed at women, further restricting space for them to participate in public discourse.

Take a recent report by Media Matters for Democracy. An alarming 95 per cent of Pakistan’s women journalists have admitted that online violence and negativity has had an impact on their ability to carry out their professional duties. As much as 77 per cent of them have revealed that they have to do self-censorship in order to counter cyber bullying and mitigate a toxic online environment. With physical spaces already highly restricted for women in the country, the fact that they find even virtual spaces suffocating to such a high degree should shock us to our core. The report stated that the sexualised and personal nature of abuse directed towards women journalists further stifled women’s voices in public discourse. As a society, a lot of thinking on our part is due if we are to work towards building a better life for ourselves and others. As individuals, the best starting point would be to check our own impulses when presented with a choice to act abhorrently online.

Even so, there is a limit to the degree of online policing that can be carried out to make online spaces less toxic than they currently are. For women journalists, that is where their organisations and the journalistic fraternity should step in with structures for support. A starting point could be to simply have more legal advice and counseling sessions for women journalists on how to tackle online harassment.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 4^th, 2019.

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