Bulli Bai: FIR Against Muslim Women Auctioned Online
The Delhi &Mumbai police have registered an FIR against a dubious application that uploaded images of Muslim women "for auction."
On 1 January, Quratulain Rehbar, a journalist from Kashmir, woke up to see herself listed for an “online auction”. Her photograph was sourced without her permission and uploaded on an app for “sale”. She was not alone. Photographs of more than 100 Muslim women, including prominent actress Shabana Azmi, wife of a sitting judge of Delhi High Court, multiple journalists, activists, Malala Yousafzai and politicians were displayed on the app for auction as “Bulli Bai” of the day. Rehbar said, ‘"The...content...is aimed at insulting Muslim women...and the entire website seems to have been designed with the intent of embarrassing Muslim women," In July 2021, a similar application named “Sulli deals" displayed photographs of more than 80 Muslim women up "for sale as maids."
The terms "bulli" and "sulli" are both offensive terms for Muslim women. The Delhi & Mumbai police have now registered FIRs against the App. The websites have been disabled, but no arrests have been made. Union Minister for Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnav said the government is coordinating with local police to resolve the issue.
