Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari is doing what few women dare to: publicly fighting back against those who attempted to erase her dignity with digital lies.
Since July, Bokhari has been in relentless legal pursuit of those responsible for creating and circulating deepfake videos targeting her. In a society where women are taught to endure shame quietly, Bokhari refuses to let a heinous act of digital character assassination destroy her dignity and add to the body count. This is more than just a personal struggle—it is a fight for every woman who has been silenced by shame and fear.
Other prominent Pakistani women, including Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif and journalist Asma Shirazi, have similarly been targeted in vicious, misogynistic smear campaigns. The intention is clear: to humiliate, discredit, and break them. These women, like Bokhari, have been attacked not for their actions, but for daring to speak, to lead, to hold power. Unlike many others who—under the weight of stigma, the ceaseless cycle of public judgment and for the sake of their sanity—try to forget and move on, Bokhari is demanding accountability through the legal system.
The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), 2016, addresses this present-day menace. It punishes even the sharing and circulation of sexually provocative, demeaning and humiliating content—whatever its veracity or provenance—with fines and jail time. And yet, the law is only as strong as its enforcement. In Bokhari’s case, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), with its procedural botch-ups, has repeatedly let her down. Unfortunately, all too often, digital predators—armed with an arsenal of apps to advance their unholy purpose—walk away, justice be damned.
The Army has labeled online activists supporting jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan as “digital terrorists” for their merciless criticism of the military’s role in his downfall. This tag is political hyperbole. It is better reserved for those who weaponize digital platforms to violate, assault, and disgrace women. In a country rich with irony, some of Khan’s own supporters are the worst offenders on this score.
In the age of Apple where digital warfare against women’s dignity is the new front line, silence is complicity. Bokhari’s unyielding, unwavering stand is a call to arms for every woman who refuses to be a victim of this vile form of terrorism. It is a declaration that silence will no longer abide.