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Sameeksha Sud’s TikTok video on marital rape recently came under fire, when it was tampered to promote violence against women. This is a sad reflection on how social media can work to attack women.
With the COVID-19 Pandemic raging outside the doors we cannot pass through, we have contained and channelled our hate toward the internet to further spread discord and disunity among people.
Recently, TikTok star, social media influencer and actor Sameeksha Sud was on the receiving end of trolling and online harassment. Dealing with the collective vitriol of the internet makes it even harder as she is an influential and strong woman on the internet, especially given the polarising landscape of social media and the internet.
A video she posted back in 2019 is now being warped and distorted by the duet feature available on Tiktok. The video initially meant to create awareness about the issue of marital rape in India, is now being used instead to promote violence, with the caption ‘wife is not your property.’
Yet, the barrage of internet and social media hate glosses over the fact that the video had been tampered with, distorted by the duet feature, a new feature that TikTok has installed on the app. She is now being pitted against her fans and followers for promoting domestic violence and marital rape.
Upon reading some of the DMs and messages she was receiving and the online harassment and hate being thrown at her, we once again, truly wonder how far we have come with equality and progress.
Unflinching in her resolve, in a note she shared on social media, she called out the heinous message that was being conveyed and how the original video about domestic violence is even more pertinent during the lockdown.
‘’As a girl and responsible citizen, I want to bring this issue to your attention,’’ she says in a message she shared on Instagram.
The actress has faced a considerable amount of backlash from many of her male followers. She recently posted a video speaking about men disrespecting women, but her video was misinterpreted as many believed she was targeting the entire male gender.
Even after her telling people that she was only addressing a certain section of men who perpetuate the cycle of abuse, she was forced to take down the video and apologise due to the negative feedback and outcry she received.
Social media continues to be used as a weapon to trivialise and even undermine social issues on the pretext of either memes, gags, spoofs or gimmicks. People are quick to surround themselves with such content as it seems to be readily available and often goes viral.
Once again, we are losing sight of the true narrative?
Image via Sameeksha Sud’s Instagram
Shivani is currently an undergraduate political science student who is passionate about human rights and social issues, particularly women's rights and intersectionality. When she is not viciously typing her next article or blog post, read more...
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