Kochi: How do you combat an internet troll? Do you retreat? Do you hide under a rock till it all blows over? Or do you stand up to them and make your presence known and your voice heard? Show them that they cannot control you!
A few days ago, three Muslim dental students, wearing their traditional hijab and burqa, became the target for trolls because they participated in a flash mob organised as part of an AIDS Day awareness programme of the health department in Kerala’s Malappuram. This performance sparked a huge row on social media with threats being aimed at the supporters of the girls as well.
On December 9, a unique form of protest hit the streets, when a group of young people organised a similar flash mob. The group of at least 20 students, many of them wearing the hijab, were seen dancing to the same song “Entammede jimikki kammal”, to which the three girls danced a little over a week ago.
The protest was organised by the Student Federation of India, a student wing of Communist Party at one of the venues of the ongoing International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK).
It is always nice to know that there is someone on your side when it seems like the whole world is against you.