The Editors Guild of India on Wednesday said it was deeply concerned that images of Muslim women were put up “for auction” online and shared via social media in a derogatory manner, reports Scroll. in, a digital news platform in India.
Images of hundreds of women were uploaded via an auctioning app called “Sulli Deals” on Sunday, The Quint reported.
“Sulli” is a derogatory term used to refer to Muslim women in India.
The app, which was uploaded on repository hosting service GitHub, has been taken down by the platform after outrage on social media.
Journalist Fatima Khan, tweeted, “How is this acceptable? What will be the punishment, if any, meted out to the people who made this list?”
“Muslim men are lynched, Muslim women are harassed and sold online. When will this end?” added Fatima.
Meanwhile, Pilot Hana Mohsin Khan filed a first information report in the case for putting women “on-sale”.
“I’m resolute and firm in getting these cowards to pay for what they have done,” she said in a tweet. “These repeat offenses will not be taken sitting down.”
The Editors Guild raised concerns about the misuse of digital and social media platforms to harass women journalists. “This vile attack is symptomatic of underlying misogyny in some sections of the society, especially against Muslim women as well as those who have been outspoken critics of the current government,” it said.
