AISA leader Neha Bora faced online harassment after protest videos with vulgar captions circulated, sparking widespread condemnation and highlighting issues of women's safety and objectification on social media.

AISA leader Neha Bora faced online harassment after protest videos with vulgar captions circulated, sparking widespread condemnation and highlighting issues of women's safety and objectification on social media.

AISA leader Neha Bora faced online harassment after protest videos with vulgar captions circulated, sparking widespread condemnation and highlighting issues of women's safety and objectification on social media.

"We talk about girls' safety, but people are clueless about why girls are not safe. If she were his sister, could he still have shared this video?"

The above was one X user's reaction after a verified account shared a video of AISA leader Neha Bora from the Jantar Mantar protest site with a double-entendre caption. Several X accounts with significant reach and followings have shared her videos from Sunday's protests with such remarks.

All India Students' Association (AISA) national president Neha Bora and social activist Anjali Bhardwaj were among those leading the students who marched from Andhra Bhawan Circle towards Jantar Mantar during a protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday. The situation became tense when Neha Bora and others climbed a police barricade near Ashoka Road, where the march was stopped by the Delhi Police.

AISA activists later claimed that Neha Bora was released at the Narela Industrial Area police station after being picked up during the march.

Since Monday, videos of the Left leader battling the police and helping fellow students climb up the barricades started circulating on social media with objectionable captions. They were vulgar and suggestive, as some users even edited out parts of the tension between the two sides during the protests. Short clips were being extended using slow motion to give the impression of longer footage.

Such videos, however, received a severe backlash from netizens, who didn't take the objectification of women lightly. "If Neha Bora were in the place of your mother, sister, or daughter, would you still post or like this video? 7.1K likes is deeply disappointing. Please think about the impact of what you’re supporting before you like or share such content," one user replied to one such vile video.

Others were unhappy that such angles were used while shooting the video and aired knowing that it could outrage the modesty of a woman. "Why try to defame the entire protest by showing a photo/video of a girl present at the demonstration from such an angle? The issue is what needs to be discussed—not turning a girl's dignity into a spectacle to rack up TRPs," another wrote.

Despite the backlash, many accounts have refused to take down the videos or remove the captions.

AISA to resume protests

Meanwhile, Neha Bora on Tuesday urged all political forces, besides INDIA bloc constituents, "that understand the urgency of the situation over the deletion of names from the voter list during the SIR exercise" to unitedly take on the BJP-led government at the Centre.

She called upon people from all sections of society to join a citizens' protest called by the Communist Party of India / political groups in New Delhi on October 10, Saturday. The AISA leader claimed that the entire Delhi Police force has been deployed to block all protests.

"Not only the INDIA bloc but also all political forces that understand the urgency of the situation, where a whole institution is working towards deleting the voting rights of people, must come together," she was quoted as saying by PTI.

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