In the chaotic aftermath of the explosion at Delhi's Red Fort on November 10, 2025, Indian television networks swiftly launched a pre-prepared narrative that deliberately targeted Pakistani women, using advanced technology to spread misinformation and communal hatred.
The Orchestrated Media Campaign
While rescue teams were still evacuating the injured and families desperately searched for their loved ones, Indian screens were already dominated by the face of Shaheen Shahid, a Pakistani woman falsely branded as the "mastermind" of the attack. Before any proper investigation could begin, her name was linked to another woman, Afira Bibi, whose Computerized National Identity Card details had been mysteriously displayed on Indian channels for weeks prior to the incident.
Major broadcasters including Zee TV amplified this narrative with AI-generated videos showing Muslim women in abayas and niqabs handling weapons and conducting military-style training. These fabricated visuals featured dramatic background scores, ominous captions, and carefully edited sequences that blurred reality with fiction, designed specifically to alarm international audiences already sensitive to discussions about women's rights and terrorism.
Connecting Propaganda to Political Agendas
This media campaign coincided with India's self-declared Operation Sindoor, ostensibly launched to protect Hindu womanhood. While promoted as a defense of dignity, the operation served a dual purpose: elevating Hindu women as symbols of national honor while simultaneously demonizing Muslim women as inherent security threats.
The consequences extended far beyond television screens. In 2025 alone, over 1,300 AI-generated social media posts targeted Indian Muslims, with women being particularly victimized. Deepfake visuals, doctored footage, and manipulated content broadcast on national channels reinforced Islamophobic stereotypes and spread communal hatred in what appeared to be a carefully coordinated campaign.
Erasing Real Pakistani Women's Experiences
This malicious portrayal completely ignored the actual lived experiences of Pakistani women. From 2001 to 2025, Pakistan fought an exhausting war against terrorism, losing tens of thousands of lives. Pakistani women bore tremendous burdens during this conflict, losing husbands, sons, brothers and fathers while maintaining households and communities amid national crisis.
Despite these challenges, Pakistani women have made remarkable contributions to national development. They contribute over $37 billion annually to the economy across sectors including agriculture, healthcare, education, media, entrepreneurship and the armed forces. With a labor participation rate of 25.4%, they work as doctors, engineers, pilots, lawyers, journalists and peacekeepers - achievements completely erased by the reductionist terrorist caricature.
Contrasting Realities: Indian Women's Challenges
The irony of this propaganda becomes stark when examining the actual situation of women in India. According to 2023 NCRB data, over 448,000 crimes against women were reported, including domestic abuse, assault, kidnapping, and 29,670 documented rapes. Cybercrimes targeting women exceeded 86,000 cases, with Uttar Pradesh recording the highest number of incidents and Telangana the highest rate per female population.
Despite a charge-sheeting rate of 77.6%, over 90% of cases remained pending trial, denying timely justice to victims. Domestic violence remains widespread and severely underreported due to social stigma and institutional apathy. In conflict-affected regions, Indian women face coercion into militant groups while being excluded from leadership and exploited by the very systems claiming to protect them.
Regional Implications and Necessary Responses
This systematic misrepresentation of Pakistani women as terrorism actors fosters mistrust, inflames communal tensions, and undermines diplomatic reconciliation efforts. The narratives also severely impact Muslims within India, who face increasing prejudice, surveillance and harassment.
Pakistan must systematically document and expose these campaigns through international platforms including the United Nations, global media watchdogs, human rights organizations and academic forums. Muslim-majority nations and international human rights groups need to unite in challenging these defamations and holding Indian media accountable for their dangerous propaganda.
The international community must recognize that weaponizing women's identities carries profound human costs and immeasurable societal damage. Pakistani women, who have demonstrated extraordinary resilience through conflict and hardship, deserve recognition and dignity - not headlines that distort their lives into instruments of fear. It's crucial to look beyond manufactured screens and demand media responsibility that matches the stakes of the human lives it portrays.
