If you’re not familiar with Khadija’s story, please read this.
Khadija Siddiqi is a law student from Lahore who was stabbed 23 times in broad daylight. She had her posts regarding her case removed by Facebook – even though they didn’t violate any of the Community Standards.
Kudos @facebook for blocking #Khadija's account. She thought she can use ur medium to raise her voice against the man who tried to kill her pic.twitter.com/O0JXG011JY
— M. Jibran Nasir (@MJibranNasir) July 15, 2017
Khadija was also a recent target for humiliation in court
She was, unfortunately, questioned her about her virginity. Because shamelessly resorting to the ghairat card was obviously the only option left.
Watch how Khadija faced character assassination in the court.she is a fighter but this is why women lose hope and dont pursue their cases pic.twitter.com/0WSHpYFZJp
— Shahzeb Khanzada (@shazbkhanzdaGEO) July 14, 2017
Khadija Siddiqi and her supporters started facing this issue yesterday when they noticed that their posts were being deleted. Some couldn’t access their social media accounts either.
Hassan Niazi, Khadija’s lawyer, shared the aforementioned information on Twitter
Urgent: @facebook has also blocked account of @khadeeeej751 – after suspending mine for 30 days. Freedom of speech? Learn from twitter pic.twitter.com/OXY7ccC1Py
— Hassan Niazi (@HniaziISF) July 15, 2017
Mohammad Jibran Nasir, who has been extremely vocal about this issue, weighed in on the matter too
Shame on @facebook for continuously deleting posts/blocking accounts in favour of #Khadija on fake grounds. My post deleted for "nudity" pic.twitter.com/kPvUqv2a95
— M. Jibran Nasir (@MJibranNasir) July 15, 2017
In a series of tweets, he spoke up against Facebook’s policy being used wrongly against Khadija
.@facebook system seems so pathetic that anyone can manipulate it by sending bulk reports.It doesnt even bother to check if complains r true pic.twitter.com/waJJ0Zm6XL
— M. Jibran Nasir (@MJibranNasir) July 15, 2017
He pointed out how Facebook failed to ensure freedom of expression in this case
Thought @facebook ensured protection of ur freedom of expression if u didnt violate their "Community Standards". Guess its just a farce
— M. Jibran Nasir (@MJibranNasir) July 15, 2017
And pointed out how Khadija and her supporters were blocked from accessing Facebook
Im not the only 1. Various posts supporting #Khadija removed by @facebook. FB Account of @HniaziISF repeatedly suspended over past 2 months
— M. Jibran Nasir (@MJibranNasir) July 15, 2017
Khadija Siddiq’s post about her facing harassment in court was also removed
.@facebook u also removed #Khadija's post in which she explained the harrassment/abuse she faced by vile lawyers in her pursuit of justice
— M. Jibran Nasir (@MJibranNasir) July 15, 2017
And Khadija’s attacker was believed to be behind all of this
Its becoming clear that #khadija's attacker Shah Hussain has thrown money to hire trolls/digital firm to report content in her support pic.twitter.com/Jlv9PgnUMN
— M. Jibran Nasir (@MJibranNasir) July 15, 2017
As news of the matter spread, many others weighed in on the matter as well
Shameful from Facebook, please post it in comments to Mark Zukerberg. He sometimes responds to complaints
— JUNAID ALI KHAN (@junaidalikh8) July 15, 2017
People weren’t too happy with Facebook’s removal of the posts
@facebook it seems like you guys don't check the content of the post before removing. Shameful practice.
— Calibri Alubukhara (@Alubukhara1) July 15, 2017
Others who had their posts removed too shared screenshots as well
my post on @facebook regarding Khadija was removed too. ? pic.twitter.com/wtqqJEiN0V
— Yasser (@Porus35) July 15, 2017
A continuous war waged on on social media, where Facebook’s Community Standards were questioned. It was evident that Khadija and her supporters could not be silenced.
Fortunately, Facebook restored the removed content and access to the blocked accounts
Breaking: Facebook has restored my and @khadeeeej751 's account.Our deleted posts regarding khadija case are back.Thank you all for support pic.twitter.com/zlckb51acK
— Hassan Niazi (@HniaziISF) July 15, 2017
While it remains unclear why the posts were removed, it’s heartening to note that the power of social media was used to benefit Khadija and her team. Let us hope that after everything she’s been through, her battle becomes easier here on out.
What do you have to say about this? Share your thoughts in the comments below.