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'If a woman doesn’t want others to know they have been in a relationship or have been talking to somebody, it can be used against them,' says Shmyla Khan, head of the helpline at DRF. Many of the cases are related to sexually explicit images being shared non-consensually online or, as in Fatima’s case, non-sexually explicit images. The most frequent complaints are blackmail, revenge porn, cyber stalking and harassment. Between 20, the DRF helpline received nearly 3,000 calls, mostly from women. The helpline was established in 2016 after the death of social media star Qandeel Baloch, murdered by her brother in an ‘honour’ crime. In desperation, Fatima contacted the Digital Rights Foundation, a Lahore-based organisation that runs a cyber harassment helpline. Both she and her sister contemplated suicide. Fatima was so afraid of retaliation from her extended family that she and her husband moved away from the village. Throughout the ordeal, her father, husband and brothers were supportive, but the family was humiliated. In her area, it was considered dishonourable for women to be photographed at all, let alone to share them online. That was when she realised that when he had fixed her iPad, he had stolen photographs. He posted an album of photographs of all the women in Fatima’s family. Next, he created a fake Facebook account in Fatima’s name and sent friend requests to her entire family.

He carried through, contacting her father and her brother via Facebook and WhatsApp.

Then he threatened Fatima, telling her he would share the photographs he had of them together. A 2017 study found that 70% of Pakistani women were afraid of posting or sharing photographs of themselves online in case the pictures were misused.įirst, Asad messaged Fatima’s sister on Facebook, trying to coerce Fatima into resuming contact. When we hear the words ‘revenge porn’, we typically think of sexually explicit images, but in a context like Pakistan, even non-explicit images can have a devastating impact. After the wedding, she told Asad she was cutting off contact, and blocked his phone number and social media accounts – Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram. Although she had wanted to marry Asad, she did not rebel against her family’s wishes, and was soon married to a man they chose. When she finished her medical degree, Fatima moved back to Charsadda, and her family began looking for a suitable husband. It was frowned upon to speak to men outside the family, and most events – even weddings – were gender segregated. Most women did not work outside the home, and if they went out without a male guardian, they covered their faces.

Due to ongoing terrorist and military violence in the area, they had relocated to a small village in Charsadda, also in north-western Pakistan. Her family was originally from Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Area, an area bordering Afghanistan. "Fatima was wearing a burqa, her head and body covered in loose fabric, but uncovered her face for the meeting"