Many women who took part in one of India's biggest anti-government protests in years say they have paid a heavy price for speaking out online. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing BBC News.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a youth-led movement that helped force the resignation of India's education minister, relied as much on Instagram as it did on marches. Memes, reels and viral videos became the movement's calling card, documenting everything from protest songs to the police crackdown when officers used tear gas and baton charges to stop demonstrators marching to parliament on 20 July.
Delhi police said 60 protesters and 118 police personnel were injured on the day, but the CJP said the number of injured protesters was significantly higher than the official count.
The BBC spoke to four women who asked not to be named. They described rape threats, doctored images spreading on social media and strangers trawling through their photos and videos.
One woman said: "I was slut-shamed and attacked for questioning the prime minister's comments. I have lost count of the number of messages I have deleted, but the comments keep coming."
Another woman said: "My face began appearing in social media posts claiming protesters were being identified by the police. Someone even found out which college I attended. My inbox filled with anonymous messages. Some said they would report me to the police so I would be beaten or arrested. Others simply warned: 'Your turn will come.'"
The women said they deleted posts, locked their accounts and stopped answering calls from unknown numbers. Some cases spilled into TV debates, police complaints and political statements.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he forgave the children who had abused him, urging society to do the same rather than punish them or drag them through the courts.
This story highlights the issue of online safety for women in India. As one woman said: "As a woman in India, you grow up with fear. When you have a voice online, that fear doesn't disappear. It just follows you there."