It’s common to see news about celebrity weddings, pregnancies and the birth of their babies on the entertainment pages of newspapers. Though people may feign disinterest in such “gossip”, these sections are widely read.
Manoramaonline, a news portal, recently published an article with the headline “Saranya Mohan becomes a mother” after the actor gave birth to a baby boy on August 24. Internet trolls landed on the page and posted obscene comments, causing distress to Saranya and Aravind Krishnan, her husband.
Following this, Saranya wrote a Facebook post that said she’s realized how cruel society can be online. She also declared that she will not be posting pictures of her baby as she cannot bear any more trolling. She states, “I am very proud of being a woman and am happy that I have a real man besides me who understands me for what I am :) I wish, the guys who have posted such abhorrent comments about a lady becoming a mother, a speedy recovery from such chronic mental illness.”
Her husband, too, took to Facebook to express his anger about the abuse. He said, “I couldn’t find a comment that blessed the mother and child.”
He also named and shamed an abuser who’d posted a particularly offensive comment. Aravind Krishnan said, “Anwar Vennilath, a brother who is sexually satisfied after posting the most indecent comment, should know that Saranya and baby is fine. Looking at your profile it is understood that you are also a father. I don’t know what you have gained by commenting in such a bad language. We pray that your daughters, as we can see in your cover photo, should not have a similar situation in future.”
Aravind also suggested that Anwar make an appointment with the dentist if the abuser was planning to meet him in person.
Anwar was among those who’d questioned the news value of the article in the comments section. He’d asked, “Why this is a news? Was she infertile?” The Malayalam word he used for “infertility” was an offensive term.
Another troll had said, “Maybe this a news because she gave birth after her marriage.” Some others commented that she must have given birth before her wedding and that Manorama could be expected to carry another news article when the wedding happened.
The vile abuse that women face online is a manifestation of the misogynistic society we live in but few respond with spirit and fight back the way this young couple has.