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- DW
Pakistan: How social media can become a danger to women – DW – 06/27/2025
As more women in Pakistan embrace self-expression and economic freedom online, they're often met with harassment, privacy violations and violence. Earlier this month, 17-year-old TikTok star Sana Yousaf was shot dead by a man who had repeatedly contacted her online, according to police. The killing of the popular Pakistani teenager, who had more than 1 million followers across TikTok and Instagram, has raised renewed concerns over the safety of online personalities in Pakistan, particularly young women. "I had posted a story on social media while at a burger shop," Hira Zainab, a Pakistani social media user, told DW. "On my way back, a car passed by, and someone called out my name." Zainab, who has been active on Instagram since 2017, has maintained several public accounts, including a food blog and a society column. She said this wasn't the only instance where online stalking turned into a real-life encounter. "Once, I was at a salon, and after I left, I received a message saying, 'That color looks nice on you.'" Both times, Zainab said the messages came from strangers who had previously made online advances she had ignored. Other recent incidents — such as leaked video footage purporting to show TikToker Maryam Faisal in a private moment with a partner — have highlighted concerns about women's digital safety. In Pakistan, self-expression and economic independence in digital spaces comes with a surge of threats, privacy violations, and social backlash pressures that often escalate into real-world violence. According to a 2023 study by the Digital Rights Foundation, an NGO that advocates women's rights in the digital space, 58.5% of online harassment complaints in Pakistan are filed by women. But public conversation rarely addresses the deeper, systemic issue — particularly the patriarchal norms that stretch from the online world into homes, workplaces, and society at large. Women with public-facing digital lives have been asking why does visibility so often come at a cost? DW spoke with several Pakistani women who use social media in a public capacity. Yusra Amjad, a Pakistani poet, has used Instagram publicly since 2017. "What started with poetry grew into opportunities for content creation and collaboration," she told DW. "The coolest thing that happened was when Yrsa Daley-Ward, a British African poet, selected someone from Instagram comments for a video call and I won" Amjad said. "I also connected with Indian writers and poets." She recalled one of many hate comments she has received. "When my mother and I did yoga in a park. Hate comments alluded to it being shameless and dishonorable." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Bisma Shakeel, who is based in the Pakistani city of Kohat, uses social media to raise awareness about mental health, focusing on narcissistic abuse and domestic violence. Her motivation stems from personal experience, having left a toxic relationship in which her partner was controlling and discouraged her from using social media to build a professional presence. But the 29-year-old's journey wasn't straightforward. Securing permission from her family to post videos showing her face took time. For many women, freedom on social media, just like in offline spaces, exists on a spectrum. "My father is liberal, but even he said, 'You shouldn't post. People will talk. In our community, girls don't do that.'" Though Shakeel is now active on social media, she said it doesn't come without risk. "Not so much on Instagram, but on TikTok, you can't imagine the kind of threats we get. Rape threats, death threats," she said. Women in Pakistan — especially those who are visibly active online, whether talking about politics or society or simply owning their space — are often judged and perceived as a threat to religious and cultural values. ''That framing is what makes the harassment feel 'deserved' to many. It's not random, it's deeply structured: she's labeled as immoral or un-Islamic, and then attacking her becomes a form of social or religious duty,'' said Maham Tariq, a feminist activist associated with Pakistan's "Aurat Azadi March" (Women's Freedom March). "It allows people to feel righteous while being violent." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Several women interviewed expressed frustration that social media platforms often fail to adequately support victims of online harassment. The complaint process is slow and often ineffective. Aisha*, a Karachi native now based in Berlin, has used Instagram as a blog and community platform for years. She shared her experience of being impersonated online with fake profiles and doctored photos. ''Family members would screenshot my photos,'' she said. ''And I saw fake profiles of myself.'' Aisha said that a recent Instagram feature whereby blocking an account also blocks associated IPs has dramatically reduced the number of fake accounts. Following Sana Yousaf's killing, rights expert Dad noted that many women influencers have become active in reporting victim-blaming comments. "They also reported profiles glorifying Sana's murder,'' said Dad, who noted that low digital literacy combined with widespread internet access remains a challenging and risky mix in Pakistan. ''So bad actors, somehow, they have this sort of trust in the system that it won't work for victims and survivors,'' she said. While authorities often act swiftly on victims' complaints, that's not always the case. For some, like Aisha, safety remains a major concern when visiting Pakistan, even from abroad. She says she keeps her accounts private during view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Middle East Eye
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Rights groups say Starmer's migration comments risk reigniting far-right riots
Rights groups say Prime Minister Keir Starmer's comments about curbing migration to the UK risk sparking a fresh wave of riots targeting mosques and asylum hotels this summer. In a speech, which politicians and rights groups say recalled rightwing politician's Enoch Powell's notorious 'rivers of blood' speech, Starmer defended Labour's plans to curb net migration to the UK. During Monday's speech he said that the country risked becoming 'an island of strangers' and that he intended to 'take back control of our borders', referring to the UK, and end a 'squalid chapter' of increased migration. Powell's 1968 speech, which warned of a future Britain where the white population would be 'strangers in their own country', sparked widespread attacks on ethnic minorities. Starmer outlined plans for sweeping reforms of the immigration system, including raising language requirements for all visas including dependents, requiring applicants for skilled workers visas to hold a degree, and an end to overseas recruitment for social care work. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Under the new rules, people will now have to wait 10 years rather than five before applying for indefinite leave to remain. Rights groups have warned that the inflammatory comments risk sparking a resurgence of last summer's anti-immigration and anti-Muslim riots. MP Shockat Adam says Starmer dodging issue of Gaza atrocities after Commons exchange Read More » 'It's not even a year since the racist riots,' Ravishaan Rahel Muthiah, director of communications at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), told Middle East Eye. 'A lot of people, including ourselves, are saying it's echoing the far right, but it's further than that, because the far right don't have the platform.' 'When the prime minister is saying things that maybe street fascists, or people who comment on our Instagram and social media accounts say, it has a massive effect,' he said. Muthiah emphasised that the impacts of the measures will not just be felt by migrants, and could have broader implications for communities of colour in the UK. 'The ripple effect will be felt on our streets, will be felt by our clients and it will be felt by the broader communities of British South Asians, British African and Caribbean communities - not just migrants that have newly come to the country, but people that have lived in this country for decades,' Muthiah added. A propaganda stunt Campaigners pointed to Labour's anti-migrant rhetoric in fuelling last summer's riots which targeted mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers in towns and cities across the UK. 'Controlling the UK's borders' was central to Labour's election campaign, with Starmer pledging to slash 'sky-high' net migration figures and to 'smash the gangs', echoing the Conservative 'stop the boat' slogan. Despite announcing the former Conservative government's flagship Rwanda scheme 'dead and buried,' Starmer's government has turbocharged deportations, releasing video footage of people being led onto deportation flights. Chief executive of the NGO Care4Calais, Steven Smith, pointed out that although Starmer's speech was addressing legal migration, the policies and rhetoric effectively demonise those seeking asylum in the UK. Labour MPs and supporters 'outraged' by slew of harsh anti-immigration measures Read More » 'It's interesting that within minutes of Starmer's speech finishing yesterday morning Nigel Farage was already proclaiming that 250 people seeking asylum had already been seen in small boats trying to cross the channel during the speech itself,' Smith told MEE. 'It's a massive propaganda stunt. Although the talk is about legal migration, the impact people think of is rubber boats and orange life jackets. 'We saw the riots over the summer, and if we continue to see language like this being used, we'll see riots again this summer,' Smith warned. Maddy Crowther, co-executive director at the NGO Waging Peace, warned that the fallout of the new polices and Starmer's inflammatory rhetoric will be felt by the small number of Sudanese who have fled the conflict and sought refuge in the UK. 'We host a vanishingly small proportion of those fleeing deadly violence in Sudan given there are no safe and legal routes to seek safety here. We should be creating a culture of welcome for such individuals, not of antipathy,' she told MEE. Rhetoric aside, JCWI is concerned about the impact of the new policies on its clients, which Muthiah highlighted will impact the poorest. He described the new language requirements, which demand that every adult accompanying a worker to the UK pass an online English Level A1 test, as 'racist' and 'classist'. Should workers apply for a visa extension, their dependents will be required to pass the English A2 test. 'I don't know whether that requirement will stand for the millionaires or billionaires that may be coming into this country. And I don't know whether it will stand for, for example, football players. There are football players that come to our country to multi-million pound deals - a lot of the time they don't speak English,' Muthiah said. The changes will also directly impact JCWI'S staff. 'The plans don't take into account people who are trying to plan their lives' - Sarker Shams Bin Sharif, Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants Sarker Shams Bin Sharif, JCWI's digital campaigner, is facing a prolonged wait before he can apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR). 'The plans don't take into account people who are trying to plan their lives,' Sharif said. Before the raft of measures was announced, Sharif had to pay a bill of over £20,000 ($26,500) to renew his skilled worker visa for himself and his family. It will last him three years, but the changes mean he will have to renew the visa for another two years after that before he can apply for ILR. 'It's extremely punitive and taxing, and they've just doubled it without any consultation of anyone involved,' Sharif said. Furthermore, Sharif noted that those on visas have no recourse to public funds, a visa condition which prevents most migrants from accessing the majority of state-funded benefits, including child care. 'The government doesn't cover any of it, your child is going to be one of those children who will not have the luxury of going to nursery. When they grow up, they will always be a few steps behind,' he said. 'This is the whole system, they want to create a class of people who will be suffering and who can be blamed. That's the desired effect they're having on every migrant.'
