ISLAMABAD: Facebook recently removed a women-only group in Pakistan boasting over 300,000 members, which served as a platform for discussing taboo subjects freely.
Established in 2013, Soul Sisters Pakistan acted as a sanctuary for women to exchange information on sensitive topics such as sex, divorce, and domestic violence—issues typically shunned from public discourse in Pakistan.
Kanwal Ahmed, the founder, expressed the significance of the group to Pakistani women, lamenting its deletion and the lack of alternative spaces for discussion.
According to Kanwal Ahmed, Facebook took down the group late Wednesday, citing an unspecified “intellectual property violation” related to a post, without specifying which one. Despite its substantial impact and Ahmed’s recognition as a community leader by Facebook in 2018, the platform’s action remained opaque.
The group provided a vital avenue for members to offer mutual support, including legal guidance and emotional solace, on subjects often fraught with societal stigma and potential abuse if broached publicly.
Critics have previously targeted Soul Sisters Pakistan, accusing it of advocating divorce and behaviors deemed contrary to tradition and patriarchal norms.
The suspension of the group underscores the arbitrary and opaque nature of social media platforms’ governance, particularly affecting users in regions like the Global South
