Online 'Auction' Is Latest Attack on Muslim Women in India

Also: Bulli Bai: India app that put Muslim women up for sale is shut (BBC)

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Source: New York Times

Online ‘Auction’ Is Latest Attack on Muslim Women in India

The fake site, the second in months, is a sign of the organized nature of virtual bullying, with threats of sexualized violence aimed at silencing the outspoken.

By Sameer Yasir
Jan. 3, 2022 Updated 10:05 a.m. ET

Hiba Bég, a graduate student in the United States, was visiting the grave of her grandmother in New Delhi over the weekend when she learned that she was “for sale” to the highest bidder online — for a second time in less than a year.

Her screen filled with dozens of calls and messages from friends, all sharing the same screenshot of the profile created of her on the app, a fake auction site called “Bulli Bai.” Ms. Bég, a former journalist with an active online presence, wasn’t alone. More than 100 other prominent Indian Muslim women, including artists, journalists, activists and lawyers, found that online images of themselves were being used without permission on the app, which went up on Saturday and was taken down again within about 24 hours.

In June a similar app, called “Sulli Deals,” appeared. (Both terms are derogatory slang for Muslim women.) That one remained up for weeks and was taken down only after complaints from victims. Though the police opened an investigation, no one has been charged in that case.

India’s online space is rife with misogyny and harassment of women. But the two “auctions” have amplified concern about the organized nature of the virtual bullying, and how targeted smears and threats of violence, particularly sexual violence, are deployed to try to silence women, especially those critical of some of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policies.

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Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/03/world/asia/india-auction-muslim-women.html

Shared NYT link: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/03/world/asia/india-auction-muslim-women.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuonUktbfqYhkSVUbACbKWsIjolqPnvnGh706in73aSGIQipDyOJQBpWb_0bIILVkYtY1mTSHQdsLeJkeeMtP9M4NdUp8V1vv5ZKehJUOJyhyo4zqBm5n0pyIBegzqHq3YDDhbe4mz7f6tkPZO2O8UfHa1nwqNx8l9cU-DSyi33wJxqfGFu9niJIpjbp6WMcMFXpXbzKKvvLoFxx9JNyHCxrf4QE2UOpfMirByZ_es_lTNVUPVi-VCS938m0-69hDOdsIPKiZLBYoeMH2grh5GXWuGomxRFKR7kX9m5-kFfts&smid=url-share

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Source: BBC

Bulli Bai: India app that put Muslim women up for sale is shut

3 January 2021

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This was the second attempt in months to harass Muslim women in India by "auctioning" them online.

In July, an app and website called "Sulli Deals" created profiles of more than 80 Muslim women - using photos they uploaded online - and described them as "deals of the day".

In both cases, there was no real sale of any kind - the purpose is to degrade and humiliate Muslim women by sharing their personal images.

Sulli is a derogatory Hindi slang term right-wing Hindu trolls use for Muslim women, and "bulli" is also pejorative.

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Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-59856619