NEW DELHI: Indian Muslim women put up “for sale” in fake online auctions have criticized police for their lack of seriousness in handling targeted online harassment after the second such attempt in months, reigniting outrage among women’s groups across the country.
More than 100 Muslim women, including journalists, activists, politicians, and even acclaimed Bollywood actress Shabana Azmi, were put up for fake auctions as “Bulli Bai” of the day on an open source app hosted on web platform GitHub.
The app, which has since been taken down, was the second attempt in less than a year to harass Muslim women in this manner.
Several victims have filed complaints with the police, though some noted that no arrests have been made after the “Sulli Deals” case last July, which saw nearly 80 Muslim women displayed for auction.
“The police apathy and failure to identify and punish the perpetrators then has emboldened the app to resurface in a new avatar of ‘Bulli Deals,’” Kavita Krishnan, secretary of All India Progressive Women Association, told Arab News.
Fatima Zohra, a Mumbai-based lawyer whose photos were displayed without her consent on both apps, said the perpetrators have been given impunity because the victims are Muslim women.
“Deep down I feel that all this happened because the culprits were given impunity as the victims are Muslim women,” she said.
“What I wonder most is only Muslim women are targeted and especially those who are vocal and opinionated regarding anti-democratic policies of the state,” Zohra continued, adding that the issue should be “treated under the light of growing Islamophobia towards Muslim community in India.”
Several of the women who had their photos put up on the apps described the incidents a “shocking.”
“It is an Islamophobic misogyny being perpetrated by the Hindu right wing radicals, and very shocking to me,” Kashmiri journalist Quratulain Rehbar told Arab News.
FASTFACT
More than 100 Muslim women, including journalists, activists, politicians, and even acclaimed Bollywood actress Shabana Azmi, were put up for fake auctions as ‘Bulli Bai’ of the day on an open source app hosted on web platform GitHub.
Many of India’s 170 million Muslims have said they feel like second-class citizens since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014. Since his rise, the minority Muslim community has suffered numerous high-profile targeted hate crimes.
AIPWA’s Krishnan said the online attack on Muslim women is “not separate from the majoritarian project of the ruling BJP,” calling the incidents a “dangerous phenomenon.”
Dr. Ranjana Kumari, director of the Delhi-based Center for Social Research, an NGO that works on women’s empowerment, told Arab News that these incidents were “completely unacceptable.”
“It is completely unacceptable and much more for Muslim women who are very vulnerable given the situation that is prevailing in the country at the moment,” she said, referring to targeted attacks against the Muslim minority across India.
Seeing a repeat of the online harassment has made Hana Mohsin Khan, a professional pilot based in New Delhi, feel hopeless. Khan had filed a police complaint last July, when her name appeared in the “Sulli Deals” app.
“I feel so dehumanized as a woman and a Muslim,” Khan said, adding: “I don’t see anything happening to the perpetrators again. I am really in a sad state.”
Among those who have lodged a complaint to the authorities over the “Bulli Bai” app is journalist Ismat Ara, whose name and photo had been listed. Like many other victims, she expressed skepticism over the police investigation, but is also holding onto some hope.
“Since no arrests have been made in the earlier case, it makes me skeptical,” Ara said.
“At the same time it is also important to be hopeful because the first step has been taken by filing a police case and hope that something will come out that will put a stop to such incidents,” she added.
The National Commission for Women referred to the incidents as “a matter of grave concern,” and said that they were working on it. NCW Chairperson Rekha Sharma told Arab News that the commission, which works closely with the Indian government to advise on policies concerning women, is in touch with the police.
“With the help of the Delhi police we tried to find out the individuals responsible but the problem is that the website is located in some other countries. They are not giving any details. Police are therefore finding it difficult to reach the right persons,” said Sharma, who is a member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
The Delhi Police was unavailable for comment despite repeated attempts on Monday to reach them.
