DCW seeks action after app misuses Muslim women’s pics
NEW DELHI: The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) on Wednesday issued a notice to the Delhi Police Cyber Crime Cell asking it to register an FIR and take strict action against a mobile app ‘GitHub’ for misusing and uploading pictures of several Muslim women online without their consent and making derogatory remarks by terming it as “Sulli Deal”.
“The DCW has taken suo-moto cognisance on media report of uploading of pictures of many girls on the internet using a platform namely GitHub. It has been reported that photos of hundreds of Muslim women and girls were uploaded by an unidentified group on an app using GitHub by the name of ‘Sulli Deals’ on Sunday, 4 July. Reportedly, Sulli is a derogatory term used to refer to Muslim women,” the notice issued to DCP, Cyber Cell, Delhi Police, reads.
DCW chief Swati Maliwal said it should register the FIR and submit the action taken report, a copy of the FIR, details of accused identified and arrested in the matter, steps taken to identify and arrest the accused, in case of non-arrest, by July 12.
The matter came to light after some Twitter users shared the screenshot of their pictures being posted on the website. Pictures of hundreds of Muslim women, including journalists, activists, artists and some Pakistani nationals, have been uploaded on the website. The website allegedly took pictures of the women from their social media accounts.
“Many women had to leave social media platforms after their images got circulated. This is a very serious matter and constitutes cyber crime. An FIR should be registered and strong action should be taken against them,” added Maliwal.