Kashmiri journalist Quratulain faces communal abuse, doxxing over Bengal voter list report
New Delhi: Kashmiri journalist Quratulain Rehbar has been subjected to online abuse, doxxing, and communal slurs after her Nikkei Asia report on West Bengal’s voter list revision exposed the deletion of lakhs of names.
According to Kashmir Media Service, social media users targeted her identity as a Kashmiri Muslim woman, calling her report “news jihad” and questioning her credibility. One post wrote, “Japanese media is about to experience news jihad… Muslims in the media will feed fake news.” Others linked her to the Kashmir dispute, stating, “Kashmir shall never be free since it’s an integral part of India.”
Rehbar, whose work has appeared in Al Jazeera, reported on the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bengal, which opposition parties say risks disenfranchisement.
Journalists condemned the attacks. User @_sabahgurmat called the backlash “utterly chilling,” adding, “Targeting of the journalist by highlighting that she is Kashmiri, woman, Muslim, hijabi — as if that makes her a target.” The abuse reflects the growing intimidation of Kashmiri journalists for reporting on rights issues, observers said.
