100+ Muslim women 'auctioned' on GitHub app 'Bulli Bai'; Centre, police initiate action

Barely six months after the shocking 'auction' of Muslim women on open-source platform GitHub, a second such application 'Bulli Bai' has appeared on the same platform where over 100 top influential Muslim women were 'auctioned'. Taking to Twitter, many Muslim women, on Friday, shared screenshots of their social media photos being shared on GitHub, allegedly allowing users to participate in an 'auction'. Taking note of the incident, Union I-T minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated that GitHub has blocked the user and Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) is coordinating with police for further action.

Centre takes note of Bulli Bai

Aghast at the 'auction', Opposition MPs - Priyanka Chaturvedi, Asaduddin Owaisi and Shashi Tharoor termed it 'communal targeting', misogynistic, urging police to take action on the perpetrators. A complaint has been filed with the Mumbai Police and Delhi police with both departments' cyber cells swinging into action. After one of the journalists whose details were shared on GitHub filed a complaint, Delhi police have filed an FIR. Meanwhile, Mumbai police too have filed an FIR after Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi spoke to city commissioner Hemant Nagrale, DCP Crime Rashmi Karandikar and Maharashtra DGP. NCW chief Rekha Sharma too took note of the issue.

As per many Twitter users, multiple influential Muslim women including top journalists have been featured in an application called 'Bulli Bai' on the open-sourced platform GitHub. The screenshot shared by these women showed that their photos from their social media accounts were used to 'auction' them. The screen of the app reads 'Your Bulli  Bai for the day' and then tags the woman via her Twitter handle. The victims have expressed anguish at the specific targetting of Muslim women, blaming right wing hardliners for these 'auctions'.

What is 'Sulli Deals'?

Previously in July, a similar such 'auction' came to light after a Twitter user shared screenshots from GitHub, which hosted 'Sulli Deals' - a website that shared pictures of Muslim women, labelling them as the 'Deal of the Day'. As per reports, pictures of nearly 90 women belonging to the Muslim community including prominent journalists, activists, and artists had been shared, putting them up 'for the auction'. Social media reports suggest that while a majority of the women profiled were Indian, some of them also included Pakistani nationals. The pictures of women shared were allegedly sourced from their social media handles. It is to be noted that 'Sulli' and 'Bulli' are derogatory terms for Muslim women. The website has now reportedly been taken down after Delhi police and NCW took note. No arrests have been made yet.