When the Indian women’s cricket team scored a historic win against South Africa on November 2 to lift the World Cup trophy for the first time, the internet was abuzz with praise. The comment sections of the announcement post were filled with “Queens of India”, “Hamari chhoriyan chhoro se kam hai ke”, “Powergirls”, “The Daughters of India” and “Pride of India”. A historic achievement, undoubtedly. But rewind a few years and you’ll find the same place full of comments like “You belong in the kitchen”, “Cricket is a man’s sport” and more such snide remarks whenever the team lost. This hypocrisy of people on the Internet is not surprising. Women who make history are often celebrated and shamed with similar enthusiasm on social media platforms.
Renowned sitarist Anoushka Shankar posted a series of pictures showing the sexist comments she’s been receiving on her posts lately. One comment on her post, in which she performs a song from her album, said: “Indian classical music is sacred but the clothes worn don’t match it,” and another added: “You are blessed but there is no need to show cleavage.” To which Anoushka firmly replied, “My body doesn’t belong to anyone to comment on.” My decisions are mine.’
Many incidents illustrate that people, regardless of age or gender, are afraid deep down when posting themselves or their lives online and risk being judged, shamed and trolled. And the solution for that? Turn off the comments section. But is this protection or surrender to online abusers?
This incident highlights that people, no matter their age or gender, have a fear deep down that posting themselves or their lives online puts them at high risk of being judged, shamed and trolled. And the solution for that? Turn off the comments section. But is this protection or surrender to online abusers?
Online trolling, hate comments and the destruction of a safe space
Social media used to be seen as a space where everyone could be seen, connected and expressed freely. But for many, it is gradually becoming a place of harassment and self-censorship. In one report According to the WICCI Punjab Social Security and Reforms Council in 2022, India recorded over 65,000 cases of cybercrime and over 4,000 cases of online sexual exploitation, and many more go unreported. For social media creators who are Dalit, Muslim or LGBTQIA+, the abuse is even more violent and hateful. Instagram creator Kusha Kapila faced hate online for her body transformation. In a video, she addressed the hate, saying: “Being a woman on the internet is like being constantly watched, judged and punished – for simply existing.”
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Over 2,800 scientific papers on the topic digital misogyny have found that gender-based harassment online has evolved over the years. The authors shared that ML tools for detecting sexist content are becoming increasingly sophisticated and do not take into account the real psychological and social harm suffered by victims. A current one UK study discovered that sexist comments on TikTok receive around 60% more likes than non-sexist ones, particularly for women’s videos under Popular Challenges, where gender-based abuse is far more common. This behavior is encouraged by the algorithm; The more toxic the comment, the more visibility the post receives. In short, sexism and misogyny online have been normalized through the design of several social media spaces originally intended to promote networking.
Punishment for speaking loudly
When Gurmehar Kaur, a 20-year-old student from Delhi, posted a message saying, “Pakistan didn’t kill my father; ‘war did’,” she was met with intense hatred online, from rape threats to vile questions about her patriotism. A space that was originally intended to seek support and help quickly became a place where being vocal about justice is a crime.
Recently, Kannada actress and politician Ramya became the target of brutal online abuse when she sought justice in a case involving Kannada actor Darshan. Her DMs and comments on social media were flooded with abuse, death threats and rape threats, mostly from the actor’s fans. In a police complaint, Ramya 43 said Social media accounts that had sent her vulgar and disgusting messages. The incident became so bitter and brutal that the Karnataka State Women Commission spontaneously took up the Ramya case and directed the police to take strict action against the perpetrators.
Himanshi Narwhalwho faced horrific online abuse after her husband’s death in the Pahalgam terror attack, pleaded with the media not to target Kashmiris or Muslims. The internet was ready to respond to her request with a backlash rather than show compassion. Some accused her of being an opportunist, a desh drohi; another wrote: “She should have been shot”; others claimed she was involved in the attack. This is not new. Women who are war widows, survivors of terrorist attacks or victims of crime are often severely abused online for expressing their opinions. Those who are politically correct get all the sympathy, praise and love, while those who choose to tell the truth are brutally punished with immense assumptions and claims.
It is often seen that when a woman posts a series of pictures in an eye-catching outfit, she turns off the comment section. Because the platforms fail to protect them from all the dirty and sexist comments as reporting is slow and disgusting comments in regional languages are largely ignored. Algorithms appear to be playing a role in suppressing women’s voices online. In recent researchthe author noted that Instagram often suppresses posts from vulnerable users and supports abusive accounts in order to thrive. The study explains the function of algorithmic desistance – reporting or publishing users’ reports or posts of serious online harassment that made them feel like they had made a mistake by reporting about it online.
It is often seen that when a woman posts a series of pictures in an eye-catching outfit, she turns off the comment section. Because the platforms fail to protect them from all the dirty and sexist comments as reporting is slow and disgusting comments in regional languages are largely ignored.
However, sometimes people post and express their opinions online and immediately disable comments to get rid of all the negativity in their feeds. Research from Harvard Business Reviewshows that people who disable comments can regain peace of mind, but this comes at a cost. According to the authors, negativity often finds its way through direct messages and alternative platforms. Not only people but also companies, especially newsrooms, seem to be heading down the path of disabling comments. In 2023, some major media outlets announced that they would permanently disable comments on their official websites due to hate speech. A 2020 study by the Center for Media Engagement found that online engagement on news websites drops when comments are disabled, but the quality of interaction improves significantly. In short, proposing to silence voices online is a safer trade in today’s hypocritical digital world. While “turning off comments” may provide a moment of silence, it certainly does not eliminate digital violence and only forces people to leave public spaces.
Mehwash is a part-time writer and full-time dreamer. She is a journalist who believes in spreading kindness through stories and looks forward to making an impact on the world with her words. And when she’s not working, you can watch her get lost in the world of fiction.