ISLAMABAD: Facebook briefly removed a women-only group in Pakistan boasting over 300,000 members, dedicated to candid discussions on taboo topics, revealed its founder Kanwal Ahmed on Monday.
Established in 2013, Soul Sisters Pakistan serves as a safe space for women to exchange information about subjects like sex, divorce, and domestic violence—matters often considered unsuitable for public discourse in predominantly Muslim Pakistan.
According to Ms. Ahmed, Facebook took down the group late Wednesday citing an unspecified “intellectual property violation” tied to a particular post. “They didn’t even specify which post it was,” remarked Ms. Ahmed, appointed as a community leader by Facebook in 2018 for her contributions to the group, emphasizing its focus on “personal anecdotes and anonymous submissions.” The group was reinstated late Friday.
Soul Sisters Pakistan facilitates informal assistance among members, covering everything from legal counsel to emotional support, on topics that might attract backlash if discussed openly.
“The suspension of Soul Sisters Pakistan highlights the arbitrary and opaque practices of social media platforms and how their community guidelines can inadvertently disadvantage users in regions like the Global South,” commented Shmyla Khan, a digital rights researcher.
Critics have previously targeted Soul Sisters Pakistan, accusing it of promoting divorce and behavior deemed “wild,” challenging societal norms and patriarchal values.
Digital activists in Pakistan have repeatedly raised concerns about increasing censorship. The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority has removed over one million pages from platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for containing obscene or indecent content.
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.
