Online misogyny a thriving industry
Sania Mirza being trolled over her marriage and divorce is an extension of a society that has long revelled in its muscular patriarchy
A break-up made in heaven for Indian trolls. Cricketer Shoaib Malik remarries, but it is his exwife, Sania Mirza, whose actions are dissected, and I am not speaking of her tennis.
Long ago, double standards met misogyny on social media and became a toxic cocktail. Troll-verse likes nothing better than a story gone wrong, especially if it involves a woman.
There are drum rolls around how Sania went ‘against her country’ to marry a man from a neighbouring country.
Sania has represented India at every tournament she has played, winning medals under the banner of the Tricolour. That however does not fit into the script. When the definition of patriotism has itself changed and narrowed, it is as easy to dismiss her accomplishments as it was to mock champion wrestlers who alleged sexual abuse.
A successful, independent woman having a moment is like watering the glass of misogyny that overspills on social media.
Marriages sour, divorces happen and those branding this as a cultural misnomer are living under a rock.
Privacy and a right to choose are non-disputable yet the Indian woman, the more successful she is, gets her choices questioned. Sania’s news is just another excuse for social media’s sexism to rear its ugly head.
From politician Mahua Moitra to women journalists, it is a long not yet exhausted list of women who have found themselves threatened and trolled.
Strong women are targets
On occasion, those behind the abuse are so-called respectable professionals. Remember Rhea Chakravarty? Her boyfriend actor Sushant Singh Rajput died by suicide and drugs were also linked to the tragedy. Rhea admitted that Rajput took marijuana, but the abuse was all for her.
Targeting Sania is in poor taste, but it is not wholly unexpected, strong women in India still need to double down in comparison to their male counterparts when it comes to their opinion or success, more so on platforms like X where fake information and abuse spar with each other daily.
In this bubble, even the most sacred of boundaries, children, is crossed with impunity. Gloating men have questioned Sania’s son’s citizenship. Those who don’t spare children, as with Shahrukh Khan’s son Aryan, need to look within. But introspection is not for the weak, there is no accountability for any actions.
Privacy is almost an academic question although last checked who a person marries was not an open house. Online trolling is an extension of a society that has for long revelled in its muscular patriarchy, dismissing women and their opinion, including as influences of ‘western culture’.
Trolling women has become an industry in India where, compounded by ideological differences, voyeurism, gaslighting and rumours are all par for the course. Its classic trait is to be worried by success, of a strong woman. Hopefully they have met their match in Sania.