Arrests After Fake Auction of Female Muslim Activists in India

Prominent female Muslim activists were put up “for sale” on a website in India, prompting shock waves of anger and disgust, and leading to the arrests of three people so far. 

The website was called an offensive term for Muslims, Bulli Bai. It posted photos of more than 100 women, including prominent journalists, activists, scholars, academics and artists, saying that they were on “sale” as servants for trivial amounts of money. 

Indian police have so far arrested three people in connection with the horrendous app, two 21-year-old men and an 18-year-old woman. The suspects are currently being questioned. The police have said that more arrests are expected in relation to the app. Mumbai police commissioner Hemant Nagrale said that it is still too early to say who made the app and why they did it. 

The app was hosted on GitHub, a web platform, and was taken down following extensive backlash both nationally and internationally. 

This marks the second attempt to “auction” Muslim women and harass them online. In July 2021, a different app and website named “Sulli Deals” uploaded profiles of more than 80 women, stealing photos that women used online, and described the Muslim women as “deals of the day.” No one has yet been charged for the creation of this app. 

No real sale was made across either app. Experts say that the entire purpose is simply to degrade and humiliate Muslim women, as well as silence them. Many of the women posted on the site are vocal about the rising wave of Hindu nationalism occurring in the country under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

A popular radio DJ who was one of the women listed on the most recent website, Sayema Rahman, said that sadly she is not shocked any more, because the attacks against women have been so relentless. She said it was Islamophobia coupled with misogyny. 

An Amnesty International report specifically about online harassment in India, which was last conducted in 2018, showed that the more vocal a woman was, the more likely she was targeted. Experts and critics say that the targeting of Muslim women in particular has only gotten worse in recent years due to the country’s polarized political climate. 

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