Arfa Khanum Sherwani can deal with criticism, even abuse. But even she – a senior editor at The Wire and hardened veteran of the trenches ...
Arfa Khanum Sherwani can deal with criticism, even abuse. But even she – a senior editor at The Wire and hardened veteran of the trenches – is disturbed by the “thousands and thousands and thousands” who flock these days to her Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts, threatening her with rape and death.
“It terrifies me, it unsettles me,” Sherwani tells me, as she described the loathing she must withstand as a female journalist with an opinion and the additional hatred reserved for her Muslim identity. The bulk of these abusive messages come from handles that adore Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said this week: “Women in the country must be given the respect people give to goddess Durga.”
Sherwani has stopped checking Facebook, and her family is concerned for her safety. It is particularly troubling that her traditional reservoir of support is evaporating. Many of her “own community”, journalists, now troll her, since that is an easy way of buttressing their so-called nationalist credentials and ensuring career advancement in media houses aligned with the government. Little she says about anything goes without an inimical reaction, but more adverse responses than ever come from “blue ticks”, verified Twitter accounts of her peers and other seemingly respectable people.
