Share Save Add as preferred on Google Megha Mohan and Fay Nurse , BBC World Service Maury Phillips/WireImage via Getty Images Pakistani actress Ayesha Omar says she lost work when images of her in a swimsuit and shorts were shared online Social media companies and authorities are failing women by focusing on nudity rather than consent when dealing with image-based abuse, according to a new report by gender justice organisation Chayn.
Its criticisms are backed by Pakistani actress Ayesha Omar, whose experiences, along with those of other women, are described in the findings.
One of the women at the centre of the report, whose name has been changed to Mahnoor to protect her privacy, explains that the images that changed her life were not nude. They were not sexually explicit. They showed a woman exposing her bare shoulders and wearing Western clothing.
The 32-year-old from Pakistan told BBC Global Women that she returned to her childhood home when her marriage broke down. She hoped for comfort and support from her family, but instead, she and her young daughter were met with iciness.
It's been over a year and her father and brothers still have not spoken to her. Colleagues at work who she has known for years will not look her in the eye.
Mahnoor had expected a difficult divorce. It had never been an easy marriage. She says her husband, to whom she was married in an arranged match, was both verbally and physically abusive throughout their relationship. But it was the exposure of her private world that cost her the most.
Like many young women, Mahnoor had saved lots of pictures of herself on her phone. She had taken photos of her everyday life - a nice dinner, a selfie when the lighting was particularly flattering. Many were years old. One was of her smiling after a new haircut. Another showed her on an overseas exchange programme with friends. Others were ordinary selfies, lying in bed, wearing a vest, with her eyes closed to show off her eyeliner.
None had ever been shared publicly. She rarely posted photos on social media, mindful of the conservative culture of her community in Pakistan.
According to Mahnoor, who is a university lecturer, her former husband gained access to her WhatsApp account and private images before distributing them to male relatives, colleagues and acquaintances.
Mahnoor says he also cropped images of her with a group of friends, to make it appear that she was standing with a single man, insinuating that they were having an affair.
The photographs, she says, were used to portray her as "a woman of bad character", an accusation that, in many communities, can carry life-altering and sometimes fatal consequences.
With her friends and family, as well as colleagues, barely engaging with her, Mahnoor says she has lost her social standing and the once powerful position she held in her community.
"I lost my voice," she told the BBC. "I no longer felt visible.
"My family once respected me, my brothers respected me. Having your voice respected by your parents is such a great thing," she says. They used to ask for her advice, but that is no longer the case.
Mahnoor's ex-husband has now remarried.
The report highlighting Mahnoor's story is by Chayn, a global non-profit organisation that examines gender-based violence. Chayn argues that image-based abuse is routinely misunderstood by both authorities and technology companies because they continue to define harm primarily through nudity.
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