Facebook deletes popular Pakistan support group for women, founder says

Soul Sisters Pakistan acted as a support group for women who discussed issues often deemed inappropriate to discuss publicly in conservative, Muslim-majority Pakistan

Facebook deleted the group on Wednesday after warning the group’s founder of an unspecified ‘intellectual property violation’ linked to a post

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Pakistani women at a rally to mark International Women’s Day in Karachi. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 8:00am, 6 Apr 2024Updated: 2:52pm, 7 Apr 2024

Facebook has deleted a women-only group in Pakistan with more 300,000 members who used it to freely discuss taboo topics, its founder told AFP on Friday.

Soul Sisters Pakistan, created in 2013, acted as a support group for women who shared information about sex, divorce, and domestic violence – issues often deemed inappropriate to discuss publicly in conservative, Muslim-majority Pakistan.

“This group means so much to women in Pakistan who now have nowhere to go to,” Kanwal Ahmed told AFP.

According to Ahmed, Facebook deleted the group late Wednesday after warning her of an unspecified “intellectual property violation” linked to a post.

“They didn’t even show which post it was,” said Ahmed, who was selected as a community leader by Facebook in 2018 thanks to the group’s success.

“It’s literally personal stories and anonymous posts.”