Social media users were left shocked on Wednesday when they discovered that popular community group Soul Bitches has been taken down from Facebook without any warning.
Soul Bitches was a popular community group on Facebook where women from all over Pakistan could share their stories and seek refuge in situations of abuse or domestic violence.
In a statement to The Current, the co-founder Rabeeya revealed that the platform gave no warnings before abruptly shutting down the group:
“Facebook didn’t get any prior warning! They just took it down. I am working with meta to get it back up.”
On Soul Bitches’ Instagram page, a statement was posted explaining what had happened.
“We deeply regret to inform you that Facebook has unexpectedly deleted or disabled our beloved Soul Bitches page. We want you to know that we’re tirelessly working to understand the reasons behind this action to get our cherished platform back up and running,” the post read. “We want you to know that we are tirelessly working to understand the reasons behind this action and to get our cherished platform back up and running.”
The co-founder of the group, Rabeeya, shared a post on her Instagram stories, where she thanked social media users for their support.
“Throughout its existence, this group had not only ralied for women’s causes but extended its compassion to animals as well. It was built for women navigating different circumstances, a space where friendships had forged, unwavering support, regardless of the highs and lows we encountered…The countless instances of being targeted, bullied, and made a spectacle of are not unfamiliar to us. We, as a community, fought those lows together to preserve the openness and freedom of Soul Bitches.”
Social media users expressed their dismay at the shutdown of the website, lamenting how online spaces for women were shrinking rapidly.
“People hated Soul Bitches,” one user wrote. “Because women exchanged stories & became smarter about what they should or shouldn’t tolerate. Women told each other about their legal rights. Women gave advice to those in need. The page empowered women. This is sad. Not shocking.”
“Facebook is a toxic place for women,” tweeted Digital Rights Activist Hija Kamran. “But SB was a way to seek care, support & a sense of community for them. I’m not sure why the group must have been deleted, but it sure seems like an attack on women’s access to safe spaces on a deeply misogynistic platform.”
The Current has reached out to the co-founders of Soul Bitches, as well as to Facebook for a comment and will update the story as soon as they respond.
