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“This is not the first time I have faced cyberbullying, but this time I am more worried,” said Aparna Kurup, a senior coordinating editor for the Malayalam news channel BIG TV. Aparna recently faced widespread backlash, protests, and threats following her criticism of a Sunni Islamic scholar's controversial remarks on women.
During a political debate show called Big Dialogue, Aparna discussed Muslim cleric Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar’s comments that women should not be part of public spaces with strangers. He said there would be ‘destruction’.
Aparna delivered an introduction packed with outrage that included certain phrases that later drew criticism for the way she portrayed Islam and clerics.
There was immediate backlash, and Aparna faced significant cyberbullying, including on Facebook and Instagram, with some individuals issuing death threats to her. The channel soon posted an apology in her name saying, “Some of the remarks made during the Big Dialogue discussion held against gender discrimination towards women should have been avoided. If they have hurt anyone’s religious sentiments or beliefs, we express our unconditional regret.”
Despite the apology, the harassment continued.
“I have received cyberbullying from everywhere in the past, from political parties, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and many others. But this time I feel they crossed a line, as I am now worried about sending my child outside,” Aparna said, speaking to TNM over the phone.
Aparna pointed out that usually people targeted only her online, but this time even her family was dragged in with many using their pictures to threaten her. “Fake profiles were publishing my address and details of everyone living with me. This is the first time I am experiencing this,” she added.
“My inboxes are filled with threats. Someone was offering Rs 1 crore to the person who makes me ‘understand’. How are they supposed to make me understand? I don’t know what they meant, will they hold a knife to my throat or cut my hands. A group of people have been threatening me saying, “Remember TJ Joseph, Kerala already has an example of Joseph”,” she said.
Malayalam professor TJ Joseph’s hand was chopped by members of the Popular Front of India in 2010, accusing him of framing a question in an examination with inflammatory remarks on Prophet Mohammed.
What transpired in the last week
The Samastha Kerala Jemiyyathul Ulama (AP Sunnis), commonly known as Samastha, issued a circular on August 27. This asked mahal committees, mosques, and other religious institutions to ‘bar women from public stages and prevent them from mingling with unrelated men at religious events.’
Later, Kanthapuram stated that women should remain confined to their homes and not share public platforms with men.
Following the debate on BIG TV, Abdulla Basil CP, one of the guests on the show, shared Aparna's video and said the comments were not just against Kanthapuram. “This is targeting a community and creating a narrative against the community,” he criticised. He also said that Aparna’s statement was riddled with factual errors. Though Basil’s criticism was measured, there was instant blowback from conservative Islamist organisations and followers.
On September 1, both the channel and Aparna Kurup issued an unconditional apology.
Following this apology, many handles, including fake ones, kept targeting her.
Hindu right wing profiles also began mocking the channel for the apology saying they were frightened to criticise Muslims.
Meanwhile, Sujaya Parvathy, the editor-in-chief of Big TV, the Kerala Working Journalist Union (KWJU) and many journalists in Kerala have extended their support to Aparna.
“Despite Aparna's apology in the introductory statement made in the Big Dialogue discussion, I and my organisation, Big TV, do not agree with the approach of pursuing and attacking her without being satisfied with it. We will not leave Aparna Kurup to be hunted,” Sujaya’s Facebook post reads.
Following the cyberbullying, Aparna has filed a police complaint alleging death threats. The Cyber Police cell in Thiruvananthapuram has registered a First Information Report (FIR) on her complaint.