Description
In South Asia, particularly in Pakistan, women in the public sphere, journalists, politicians, and social media activists, are the most easy and approachable targets of gender-based harassment. Personal abuses, online trolling, false accusations, and sexualized harassment are examples of this abuse. These tactics, which are often systematic and politically motivated, undermine years of professional credibility and cause significant harm to person’s mental health. According to the Women Press Freedom 2024 study, which finds that this kind of harassment increased during the Covid-19 pandemic, 12 notable incidents occurred in Pakistan alone between 2019 and 2024, many of which went unreported. This unfriendly atmosphere based on gender, along with limited legal options and insufficient institutional assistance, makes women more vulnerable, damages their social standing, and in some cases poses life-threatening risks.
This research focuses on four questions (1) how do politically systemic gendered power systems in Pakistan facilitate and sustain online harassment of women in public-facing occupations? (2) How does such harassment affect social, professional, and psychological well-being of the female professionals? (3) How can state and non-state actors establish effective accountability and protection mechanisms to counter these abuses? (4) Using case studies, media stories, and local statistics, this study investigates how online harassment has evolved into a political tool used to silence women's voices. It argues that without providing awareness and prompt institutional and governmental action, these abuses will continue and would deepen women's mental health crises in the public sphere, undermine gender justice, and destroy democratic liberties.
