By Trevlyn Mwafuli

‘‘AFTER being  harassed, body-shamed and even receiving death threats on social media, I decided to take a break from social media; the trolls were just too much. I couldn’t take it anymore,’’ Kudakwashe Musiiwa (not real name) said tearfully. 

Musial (27) went for a reality show in South Africa last year and was involved in a relationship with a South African man. 

She was bashed for dating someone from another country by fellow Zimbabweans; they body-shamed her by directing all forms of insults at her. 

Abusive names such as ‘Mosquito’ and ‘Crooked Legs’ were used to describe her on social media.

Online harassment has been a common thing in recent times and appears to have been overlooked by most users.

It is only until one has been directly affected either through a personal attack or the attack of a loved one that people begin to talk.

People have been stripped of their dignity, resulting in many losing self-confidence, especially women.

Cases of suicide have been on the increase due to online harassment.

The internet has left women across the world hating their bodies and skin colour as a result of ‘ideal’ construct of a ‘real’ woman on the internet.

Women must be ‘yellow-bones’ (light-skinned) and ‘slim’ to be considered beautiful by certain sections of society.

Micro blogging platform Twitter and Instagram which, unlike facebook, allows for anonymity which has seen innocent people becoming canon fodder for cyber bullies.

In Zimbabwe, a Bill was pushed to clamp down on social media and online bullying. 

The Cyber Crime, Cyber Security and Data Protection Bill of 2019 was passed on October 9 2019 by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

It seeks to ensure the ‘cyber space’ is not abused.

Zimbabwean comedian Felistas Murata, well-known as ‘Mai Titi’, was recently attacked on social media after dropping pictures with her alleged boyfriend who is believed to be way younger than her; people on social media unleashed hate speech on her lambasting her for ‘dating a Ben 10’.

Yet the same Mai Titi went on to bash Lorraine Guyo of the ‘Ndinyengeiwo’ fame at length on social media.

The ‘For the why’ comedian took the attacks in her stride and did not allow them to break her.

While social media can be an amazing platform, giving a voice to the voiceless, reinvigorating democracy and inspiring debate, if wrongly used, it can cause untold suffering to those abused on these platforms.

Business Entrepreneur and socialite Olinda Chapel has been one of the most trolled women on social media and, at some point, had to delete all her social media accounts for the sake of her mental health.

Recently, she was under fire for having allegedly infected Tytan, her ex-husband, with HIV, with people calling her ‘insensitive’ and ‘inhuman’ despite not having full details of what transpired between the couple.

However, Chapel also used the social media platforms to tell her side of the story which earned her some sympathy and understanding.

Twitter socialite William Tamba said ‘the internet has to be a way of speaking truth to power and to hold the powerful to account, not a way for the powerful or the abusive to silence the truth.’ 

“More needs to be done to prevent the next generation thinking online misogyny, racism or hatred is appropriate and to prevent it from contaminating offline relationships too,’’ said Tamba. 

He added that it was important for social media users to learn how to express anger, disagreement or contempt in an argument without resorting to body-shaming, harassing or name-calling.

A lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Government had to provide stern guidelines and capacitate the police and prosecutors to deal with violent threats on social media. 

“We need new guidelines and capacity for the police and prosecutors to deal with violent threats, hate speech and stalking, which is clearly breaking and violating  the country’s laws. Too many people feel they are not getting the protection that they need,” said the lecturer.

In an interview with The Patriot, a student at Christian College of Southern Africa (CCOSA) said: “Institutions such as universities and schools must devote whole courses to teaching students about the virtues and evils that can be perpetuated in the cyber world because a lot of what is happening highlights massive ignorance on the part of perpetrators.”

Tadiwa Changa, 24, (not her real name), who recently graduated from UZ and was once a victim of online hatred and even attempted suicide, after she had ‘twitted’ a no makeup challenge said: “I am not going to wear make up again, I just realised I am beautiful without any makeup.’’ She was bashed for claiming she was pretty.

“There is more that is positive that we can do on social media rather than spend time trading insults,” she said.

The internet must be a free space, not only for entertainment but a place where people can grow and realise their full potential.