‘Enough is enough’: journalist Asma Shirazi condemns harassment campaign against her

Senior journalist Asma Shirazi on Sunday denounced a persistent harassment campaign targeting her and other female journalists, saying “enough is enough”, as prominent media figures endorsed a petition by the Digital Rights Foundation (DRF) calling for an end to organised harassment by political parties.

The petition has so far been signed by over 60 figures in print, television, and digital media.

Speaking to Dawn.com, Shirazi said that political parties have executed targeted harassment campaigns against female journalists for some time now, stating that the petition by the DRF showed that these campaigns will no longer be tolerated.

“I have been made a target several times,” she said. “I’m made a subject of discussion to intimidate and threaten others.”

The journalist added that a “core committee member of a political party” carried out these campaigns through a channel on YouTube, using vulgar imagery of female journalists in his thumbnails.

“He is not separate from the party, nor has the party disassociated from him,” she said.

“He puts up pictures of women and uses vulgar thumbnails to earn dollars. Of course, there is great concern about this.”

Shirazi did not mention the party member by name, or the party he belongs to.

“There is great unrest among female journalists about one-sided propaganda spread on X and Facebook,” Shirazi said. “Harassment is commonplace, which is why I have challenged this issue. We need to highlight this and ask how long these one-sided campaigns will continue, even against male journalists.

“The DRF has taken up this initiative and this [stopping harassment] is its main focus. Enough is enough,” she said.

Earlier, Shirazi took to the X platform and denounced the targeted harassment. Responding to a post by the Coalition for Women in Journalism (CWJ), she wrote, “Women are always a soft target and have long been subjected to harassment, but we refuse to be silenced.

“We stand unwaveringly for truth and will continue to speak out, no matter the cost,” she said.

‘Gendered disinformation campaign’

Meanwhile, in a press release issued on Friday, the Network of Women Journalists for Digital Rights (NWJDR) strongly condemned what it termed a “gendered disinformation campaign” against Shirazi.

According to the release, Shirazi was targeted by “prominent political party supporters and political commentators and bloggers”.

The party was not mentioned by name.

“The harassment and vile comments against Asma Shirazi are baseless and hinge upon character assassination by online trolls and political commentators with huge followings,” the statement read.

“We urge political parties to take disciplinary action against those involved in the targeting of female journalists and to formally dissociate from the actions of these trolls.”

Citing a report by the DRF, the press release stated that female journalists were also targeted while covering the General Elections in February.

“These journalists became vulnerable to online threats of physical assaults, organised trolling campaigns and gendered insults,” the NWJDR said, quoting the report.

Furthermore, the press release cited a study conducted by the International Centre for Journalists (ICFJ) which found that Facebook and X were named as the least safe platforms by female journalists.

“The research further revealed that nearly 73 per cent of women journalists experience online violence,” the press release read.

“The continuation of such targeted campaigns not only places individual journalists’ lives at risk but also shrinks space for freedom of expression and press freedom as a whole.

“These targeted disinformation and harassment campaigns cannot become the norm. Every time female journalists face gendered harassment, NWJDR will continue to raise its voice and assist survivors in finding avenues to justice,” it said.

Prior targeted campaigns

The NWJDR mentioned that Shirazi was involved in a two-year-long case in the Islamabad High Court against television channel ARY News and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) in 2021.

Though she won the case, NWJDR stated that the case “involved a fabricated news story undermining her [Shirazi’s] journalistic integrity”.

“I am extremely emotional and yet this decision has restored my faith in the justice system,” she said in a statement after the verdict was issued in 2023. “This is a landmark decision not only for me but for all journalists who faced intimidation and harassment online and on mainstream media.”

In 2021, Shirazi was also targeted by the then-PTI government in a “government-backed troll campaign”, according to a statement from the CWJ.

“The ruling party’s Twitter (now X) handle attempted to discredit and align Asma and accused her of ‘obedience’ to a ‘certified chor (thief) and absconder’,” the statement read, condemning the actions.

Shirazi also signed a 2020 CWJ statement against the harassment and digital abuse of women in the profession, which noted that journalists are targeted for either criticising a party policy or differing on a party’s stance on a given issue.