The New Battleground Is Online

From politicians to teenage girls to young creators, women are being silenced online. The new battleground isn't the street—it's the screen.

- Namrata Kohli

When BJP leader Rekha Gupta was recently attacked, it was a chilling reminder that women in public life don't just fight ideological battles—they fight for their safety. What makes the picture even grimmer is that, while such assaults are visible and shocking in the offline world, the day-to-day battering of women's dignity now happens online—relentless, toxic, and largely unchecked.

Take the case of Kangana Ranaut or Smriti Irani. Since stepping into politics, both have endured torrents of vitriol. Male politicians are critiqued for policy or performance. Female politicians are mocked for their gender, appearance, and audacity to occupy a male-dominated space. The message is consistent: "You don't belong here."

PATRIARCHY GOES DIGITAL Online abuse is not an aberration—it is a continuation of offline patriarchy. The same double standards that judge women's clothes, choices, or sexuality in society now play out a thousandfold on social media. The anonymity of the internet emboldens trolls. Weak laws and sluggish platforms ensure little accountability. And instead of rallying behind survivors, many families respond by restricting access—telling daughters to quit social media rather than telling sons to stop harassing. The result? The survivor is punished twice: first by abuse, then by silence.

Girls know something is wrong but remain silent, fearing blame or loss of phone access. Boys want to intervene but lack safe spaces. Parents, digitally illiterate yet worried, impose restrictions instead of trust. The outcome? Women log off. Men dominate. The digital gender divide deepens.