India CJP protests: Young women face online harassment and abuse - BBC News

Women tell the BBC how they were harassed for participating in the CJP protest and posting about it online.

Image source, Hindustan Times via Getty ImagesImage caption, The women BBC spoke to say they received threats and abuses after participating in the CJP protests

Their videos lasted only a few seconds: lip-syncs, sarcastic reels and jokes filmed on the way to protests.

But while thousands of young people filled social media with memes and videos mocking Prime Minister Narendra Modi during one of India's biggest anti-government protest in years, many of the women behind those posts say they have paid a heavy price for speaking out.

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a youth-led movement that helped force the resignation of India's education minister, relied as much on Instagram as it did on marches.

Memes, reels and viral videos became the movement's calling card, documenting everything from protest songs to the police crackdown when officers used tear gas and baton charges to stop demonstrators marching to parliament on 20 July.