No place for women online

With the rise of AI content, women are being subjected to more forms of online abuse.

As Nepali women celebrated the festival of Teej last week and hosted dar parties in the days before, social media brimmed with videos of dressed-up women, finally relieved from their familial responsibilities, enjoying themselves to the fullest. However, as in previous years, Nepali men didn’t want to leave them alone as they slid into their DMs and comment sections with hate speech and trolls criticising the women and body-shaming them. Such forms of online harassment aren’t seen only during festivals but are an everyday experience for many Nepali women. The internet has become an appendage of the physical reality where violence against women manifests in varied forms, including physical threats, sex trolling, zoom bombing, cyber flashing, revenge porn, etc.