On International Women’s Day, PPF Calls For an Urgent Need to Address the Patterns of Threats and Harassment Against Women in the Media in Pakistan
Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) calls for an urgent need to address the patterns of threats and harassment women in the media in Pakistan are subjected to. On International Women’s Day, we also emphasize the need for developing a safer and more inclusive media environment so that women journalists and media professionals can access equal opportunities in the media and work without fear of threats of violence in the workplace, online or on the field.
In 2024-25, PPF documented several instances of attacks, threats or harassment against women in the media. This included instances of online harassment, physical threats and attacks, legal notices, and targeted remarks by a leading political figure.
Female journalists were the target of smear campaigns, threats and harassment in online spaces. PPF has found that digital attacks against women journalists often take on a gendered nature. While all journalists are subject to trends and campaigns online, the attacks on women in the media often take on a personal nature and include the character assassination of women in the media. In 2024 and 2025, such attacks have continued and involved leaking their personal information.
As Pakistan held general elections, largely without incidents of violence against the media, sporadic incidents were documented in the lead up to and following the elections. Journalists faced vile campaigns, rhetoric and harassment online, particularly women journalists and media professionals.
GTV anchorperson Gharidah Farooqi became the target of online harassment allegedly by supporters of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI). In a tweet, Farooqi said that persons associated with PTI run campaigns against her every 10-15 days, and another such campaign had been launched against her. Farooqi said she had lodged a complaint with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). Her personal information, including her home address and phone number, was leaked online.
In the wake of ARY News anchorperson Meher Bukhari’s tweet regarding PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah, over 50 social media users have launched a barrage of attacks against the anchor. The Reporters. Pk Editor Saddia Mazhar became the target of a severe online attack after she posted on X about consultations between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) – sparked by news of discussions about forming a coalition government. She reported that numerous accounts bombarded her with offensive and vulgar tweets, aggressively retweeting her posts. Despite her efforts to block these accounts, Mazhar continued to be plagued by a relentless influx of abusive messages.
In another incident, in April 2024, Geo News reporter Nadia Saboohi was targeted online by then Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister’s Adviser on Social Welfare Mashaal Yousafzai. Her personal contact details were also shared online. Saboohi has shared the account of trauma that she experienced which she described as a “psychological war” aimed at silencing her.
In other instances, Absa Komal, host at Dawn News, received online threats after condemning a mob attack on the Christian community in Sargodha. On June 23, 2024, Benazir Shah, the editor of ‘Geo Fact Check,’ found her X account, formerly Twitter, compromised and faced abusive and misogynistic threats. In February of this year, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) co-chair and anchorperson at Aaj TV, Munizae Jahangir received threats.
In August 2024, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cyber Crime Wing arrested YouTuber and host Dr Umar Adil. The arrest followed a complaint filed by Gharida Farooqi alleging that Adil had made defamatory remarks against her.
Dr Adil, an orthopedic surgeon, while appearing on a podcast, referred to women anchors as “keeps” while specifically naming Farooqi. Farooqi in turn served Dr Adil and the podcast host, Zohaib Butt, with a legal notice after which the surgeon was arrested.
Digital harassment and threats create a challenging environment for women in the media to work under. They create a fear of such threats, translating into real-world attacks. The psychological impact of these attacks cannot be discounted either. The constant fear of being targeted creates a hostile environment that discourages women from pursuing careers in journalism or speaking out on critical issues.
In June 2024, the FIA Cyber Crime Response Centre Lahore issued a notice to female YouTuber Arzoo Kazmi.
In addition to online harassment, in 2024 and 2025, instances of physical attacks on female media professionals have also been documented.
In May 2024, Zamzam Saeed, a reporter for GTV, was assaulted while covering alleged cheating at an examination centre in Karachi.
Amid protests by the opposition PTI party, in October 2024, multiple acts of violence, harassment, and detention of journalists took place. Amongst these, Zahida Rao, a female reporter for ABN News, reported harassment and physical restraint by male police officers during her coverage of a protest in Islamabad. Despite showing her media card, she was surrounded and forced to delete footage documenting police violence.
The following month, Qurat ul Ain, a reporter for Independent Urdu, was physically attacked during another PTI protest, sustaining injuries from a sharp object after being pushed and hit by a mob.
It is not uncommon for politicians to target the media. Rhetoric of political leaders perpetuates the threats and attacks against women in the media.
In September, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur mocked “sold out journalists,” particularly women journalists, about whom he made vulgar implications. Although Gandapur’s political party, the PTI, issued an apology, the impact of such statements can be profound and damaging. Allegations made at a public address are concerning, as they undermine the safety of journalists and bring into question their credibility.
The combination of online harassment, physical threats, and legal intimidation creates an environment of fear and constraint, which is fundamentally at odds with the principles of free and fair journalism. These challenges are compounded by systemic issues within media houses and the broader societal context that often does not sufficiently support or protect women journalists.
On this International Women’s Day, PPF calls for the following actions to ensure the safety, representation, and empowerment of women in media:
- The trolling and threats to women journalists came to the forefront in 2020 when a group of women media professionals issued a statement about the abuse and attacks, they were facing online. Even though the concerns of women journalists were discussed in the National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights, such online abuse of women in the media has persisted. Over the past year, multiple instances of harassment of women in the media online have been documented. Authorities must investigate and prosecute all cases of harassment, assault, and online abuse against women journalists similar to incidents of violence against all journalists and media professionals that remain largely uninvestigated, perpetuating high rates of impunity for crimes against journalists.
- Laws passed for the protection of women in the workplace and the safety of journalists and media professionals must be implemented to ensure that a safe work environment for women in the media can be created.
- The Sindh Protection of Journalists and Other Media Practitioners Act, 2021 and the federal-level Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Act, 2021 guarantee protection against harassment. The Sindh-level law goes a step further by differentiating between broader harassment and sexual harassment, which defines sexual harassment as defined in the Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010. These laws should provide a legal avenue for protection against harassment within the workplace through effective implementation. They must be implemented.
- Media houses must comply with the Protection of Women against Harassment at Workplace Act, 2010, by establishing effective in-house inquiry committees, which are required for all organizations. Media organizations must also establish robust mechanisms to address complaints of harassment and ensure a safe working environment.
- PPF urges media houses to adopt and enforce comprehensive safety protocols to protect female journalists online and offline. Media organizations must foster environments that actively ensure the safety and dignity of all journalists, particularly women, through training, support mechanisms, and clear anti-harassment policies.
- Political parties must enforce a code of conduct for engaging with media professionals during rallies, protests, and other physical party-related events and online to prevent violence against journalists. Leadership must reiterate such policies and ensure that supporters do not initiate violence against the media. Inflammatory and irresponsible remarks by political leaders, including women in the media, must also be condemned at a party level.
- Media organizations must actively promote women to leadership positions and ensure their participation in editorial and decision-making processes.
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