Avalanche of sexist comments at the CUP councilwoman in Moià

BarcelonaThe CUP councilwoman in Moià, Lakshmi Roset Sala, has been the victim of a harassment campaign and openly sexist comments on social media after publishing a video clip through the party's channel, CUP Moià - Capgirem. The objective of the publication was to denounce the controversial expansion of a slaughterhouse that is causing disturbances in the municipality and which has resulted in blood being seen on the streets of the town this Thursday, spilled by the meat trucks.

However, the message of citizen denunciation has been overshadowed by a flood of misogynistic reactions on the internet. Although in the video, Roset appears walking naturally through wheat fields, the image has been enough of an excuse for dozens of users on social media to decide to completely ignore the slaughterhouse problem to focus on objectifying the councilwoman.

The messages have focused on judging her clothing and her body. The network has been filled with obscenities and sexualized comments where users have questioned Lakshmi's intellectual and professional value, and with sexist insinuations about the intentionality of her clothing and her attractiveness. Many of the comments, moreover, have taken the opportunity to resort to old stereotypes.

Faced with this situation, Lakshmi Roset has responded by warning of the dissuasive effect that this violence has on women's participation in public life. "I don't usually reply to messages, but the problem is that it's not just about me, many women feel conditioned, not only to expose themselves on social media in politics, but to participate fully," the councilwoman lamented. In this regard, she wanted to end her message with a clear demand: "We must put an end to the scourge of sexism and be truly free."

In statements to ARA, the councilwoman wanted to contextualize the political background of these attacks and point out the "paradox" of who is behind many of these profiles. Lakshmi recalls that she has often stood up to expose "the fascist discourses behind Aliança Catalana and Vox that criminalize immigrants" by accusing them, precisely, of being sexist. "And they, who use the great excuse that the Moors and the menas are sexist, are the ones who have not had time to attack me just for being a woman," pointed out the anticapitalist representative.