A number of celebrities including Naeema Butt, Romaisa Khan, Hiba Qadir and Imran Abbas have expressed their support for a video calling out “technology-facilitated gender-based violence” against actors on social media.
In a clip shared on Instagram, digital creator Rija Rafique identified a YouTube channel run by Noman Aleem, a “drama analyst and critic”, who she claimed was posting videos about Pakistani dramas and actors with digitally manipulated cover photos.
Rafique shared thumbnails of Aleem’s videos — which have since been changed — illustrating how specific body parts of Pakistanis actresses and other prominent figures had been digitally manipulated in order to “entice the male gaze”.
She explained that any act through which Artificial Intelligence and digital tools are used to cause “physical, sexual or psychological harm” to women is termed “technology-facilitated gender-based violence”.
She added that just because a woman is a public figure, “that does not mean you have the right to manipulate her images in any way you wish, because that is illegal”.
