Journalist Called 'Exploitative' For Asking For Sanitary Pad From Tea Seller

Journalist Ismat Ara is targeted with hate comments the moment she shared her story about a tea stall shopowner who was educated and sensitised enough to lend her a sanitary pad when she was in dire need of one. While some found it horrifying and disturbing to see the comments on her Tweet receiving vilification and inappropriate humour, others enjoyed it and added more fuel to the fire. 

Her original tweet read, “Stopped at a tea stall and realised I had got my period. I asked the shopkeeper if he had any sanitary pads. So he sat on his bike, told me to sit down, and brought me pads from a nearby shop. You're like my sister, he said. I feel so grateful for men like Manaf. Thank you.”

Ismat Ara Receives Hate

From users claiming that “Manaf should appear on the cover of all sanitary napkins,” to people retweeting, “those who don’t allow male doctors to touch a woman will ask for sanitary pads from a stranger,” Ara’s tweet not only received unsolicited hate but was also disregarded as something that did not need to be announced publicly. 

One user also generated a meme in his retweet. 

Even women started to troll Ara calling her dumb and exploitative towards the tea stall owner. The tweet read, “Why couldn't you buy the pads from the shop he took you to? Why exploit the poor tea wala? .. also, aise kisi bhi stanger aadmi ke pichey bauth jati ho? Badi daring ho. Kyunki 1: it is a shirk. To sit with an unknown man as per the sky book 2: it is unsafe you dumb woman!”

Another user agreed to say, “How does one ask for sanitary pads from a tea seller?”

Unfortunately, the number of plaguing hate comments surpassed the comments which stood for her in solidarity. “Unhinged replies on this seemingly harmless tweet. Sanghis need electrocution treatment at a psychiatric facility,” said one of the tweets in support of Ismat. 

A former journalist tweeted, “Just read the replies to this tweet. Seems a coordinated effort from the known quarters. Horrible.” 

Even his tweet received a reply like, “Bro, you should be more concerned about a known journalist making up fake stories like this.”

Others called her an attention-seeker stating, “Step 1. Make up a bizarre concoction of 'damsel in distress, a poor man struggling to make ends meet, becomes her hero. Yay' **Slowly slide in religion- Aha, communal twist** Step 2. Tweet it. Step 3. Gain followers. Become a hero.”

Ismat Ara is an Indian journalist who works in New Delhi. Her work has featured in The Hindu, News 18, Newslaundry, Firstpost, The Quint, and the BBC, among other publications in India. She formerly worked for The Wire, one of India's most well-known digital news organisations. She has also contributed to TIME magazine and the Huffington Post in the United States.

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The Anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) protests, Delhi riots, love-jihad, Covid-19, the consequent migrant migration, and farmers' protests against farm bills have all been extensively reported by Ara. She recently won Human Rights and Religious Freedom Young Journalist Award 2022 for her reporting.