There are no two ways about this. Society’s normalised sexism found a hyper outlet after the smartphone internet boom. Trolling of prominent women on social media, especially politicians, uncomfortably stares at us as a new normal now.
It is a worldwide phenomenon. In the UK, women MPs across party lines recently banded together to come down hard on such behaviour. In our neck of the woods too, no political hue has been spared if you’re a woman, and we might as well take it from the top.
The extent of how pervious trolling culture has become revealed itself in June 2018 when external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, an active Twitter user, was called ‘Sushma Begum’ and ‘Visa-Mata’ for helping expedite the passport of a Hindu woman married to a Muslim man. Swaraj put up a poll online asking whether users approved of such tweets: 43 per cent said yes.
Election season is upon us. Fake news and rumours have tagged along too. “There’s a picture of mine meeting an old,...
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