By Parambrahma Tripathy You post a tweet. Maybe about politics. Maybe about a movie. Or even just your love for dosas. Within minutes your phone blows up. Strangers flood your mentions with insults threats and words your grandma would slap you for. If yoursquore a woman in India this isnrsquot just bad luckmdashitrsquos normal. Getting trolled is as easy as breathing. And being a woman? That makes you a top target. The internet in India is hugemdashover 900 million users in 2024. More women are online now especially in cities. A 2023 survey found 8 out of 10 urban Indian women use the internet. They shop learn and speak up online. But therersquos a catch. The same survey said 83% of these women want better protection from online abuse. Numbers donrsquot lie. In 2020 Amnesty International studied tweets sent to 95 women politicians during the 2019 elections. Out of 114716 tweets 13.8% were abusive or problematic. Women were attacked for their gender religion caste even marital status. Compare this to the US and UKmdashonly 7.1% of tweets to women politicians were abusive. Indiarsquos online space is meaner and women pay the price. Why Trolls Love Targeting Women First the internet lets cowards hide. Anyone with a phone and hate can attack without consequences. A 2019 report found over 75% of young women in South India faced cyber-violencemdashbody-shaming rape threats you name it. Most donrsquot report it. They just quotadjustquot to survive online. This isnrsquot just about tech. Itrsquos about culture. In India women who speak up challenge the system. A journalist gets death threats for her reporting. A student tweets about castemdashboom trolls attack. A 2023 article put it well online trolling is just offline misogyny in disguise. Women are expected to stay quiet. If they dare speak especially on quotmalequot topics like politics or religion trolls rush to shut them up. Why Women Get the Worst Hate India loves women as mothers and daughtersmdashbut only if they stay in those boxes. Step out and the hate pours in. A 2022 study talked to 25 women Twitter influencers. They said trolling often includes sexual slurs body-shaming or character attacksmdashstuff men rarely face. One woman called it quotsexual harassment by another name.quot It gets worse for Muslim Dalit or marginalised women. Amnestyrsquos study found Muslim women politicians got 94% more religious slurs. Dalit and tribal women faced 59% more casteist abuse. The internet copies real-life Indiamdashwhere gender caste and religion make some women quoteasy targets.quot The quotHonourquot Trap In India a womanrsquos quothonourquot is tied to her family. Trolls use this against them. A journalist wrote about a political prisonermdashthen faced sexual trolling. Her family didnrsquot fear for her safety. They feared for their quothonourquot and told her to quit journalism. This pressure isnrsquot just outside. Itrsquos inside womenrsquos heads. Many avoid topics like feminism or politics to dodge backlash. A 2019 survey found 40% of Indian women fear being trolled. Younger women more active online worry the most. And itrsquos not just words. Trolling can turn dangerous. Doxxingmdashleaking personal detailsmdashhappens often. In 2018 Rana Ayyubrsquos address was shared online. The UN had to step in. Why Trolls Get Away With It Social media platforms move slow. Twitterrsquos abuse detection is weak in regional languages. Women go to the policemdashbut many stations lack cybercrime units or women officers. The Womenrsquos Ministry has a complaint email but a 2018 report said it got fewer than 100 complaints in two years. Not because trolling is raremdashbut because women donrsquot know where to report. Laws? Barely any. A Supreme Court lawyer said in 2018 India has no anti-trolling laws. Convictions are rare. How Women Fight Back Women arenrsquot just victims. Theyrsquore fighting. Some mute notifications. Some block trolls. Others clap back with facts. A journalist said she quotslaps trolls with factsquot and refuses to stay quiet. But itrsquos exhausting. Amnestyrsquos 2017 survey found 59% of women changed how they use social media after abuse. A third avoid certain topics altogether. The Bigger Picture Trolling isnrsquot just hatemdashitrsquos a power move. It silences women. Pushes them out of public life. Tells them the internet like the real world isnrsquot theirs. But herersquos a thoughtmdashwhat if trolling means women are winning? Every tweet that triggers trolls proves womenrsquos voices matter. Theyrsquore shaking the system that wants them silent. Fixing this needs better laws. Better tech. But most of all it needs a culture shift. Teach boys that womenrsquos opinions arenrsquot threats. Teach families that a womanrsquos voice is strength not shame. Till then every woman online is a warrior. Dodging hate just to be heard. Next time you see a woman buried under trollsmdashdonrsquot scroll past. Amplify her. In India trolling is easy. Being a woman makes it unavoidable. But staying silent? Thatrsquos no longer an option. Parambrahma Tripathy is an author and Communication for Development professional with over 18 years of experience. He has worked with organizations like BBC Media Action Landesa The Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago IPE Global and Coceptual Media. He has been recognized with several awards including the prestigious Laadli Media and Gender Sensitivity Award in 2022 and 2023 Best Lyricist of the Year in 2022 Dr. Radhanath Rath Fellowship for Journalism Kalinga Literary Youth Award Timepass Bestseller Award Srujan India Youth Award Utkal Sahitya Samaj Felicitation and Odia Yuva Stambha Samman2023