CHENNAI: Chennai mayor R Priya on Saturday spoke out against online trolling and cyberbullying targeting her, saying almost everything she does has been twisted into a controversy. “If I eat a burger, it’s an issue. If I cut my hair, it’s an issue. Every personal choice I make seems to be questioned and judged,” she said.“Sometimes I wonder if it is because I am a woman, or because I belong to a particular community? When it comes to me, I have no idea where the feminists and those who claim to stand up for women disappear,” she said.Her remarks came a day after she was trolled online apparently because of her new hairstyle during Friday’s Greater Chennai Corporation council meeting. Priya said from day one, even the simplest things she had done became an issue.Priya said women in politics were not “characterless or any less deserving of respect” and that being a woman in public life did not give anyone the right to judge her based on her appearance, lifestyle or personal choices. “Every woman has her own dignity, self-respect, and right to live her life on her own terms. Beyond the position of mayor, please remember to respect the woman,” she said.DMK MP Kanimozhi backed Priya, saying every choice made by women in public life should not be met with constant scrutiny and mockery.“Breaking into politics in a patriarchal society is tough enough; doing so from an oppressed community is even harder. Targeting women who push through these barriers is completely unacceptable. I strongly condemn these relentless, orchestrated controversies against the mayor,” Kanimozhi said in an X post.She questioned chief minister C Joseph Vijay over why he was allowing his fans and cadre to target Priya.Last month, Priya had lodged a complaint with the Chennai city commissioner of police against online trolling and cyberbullying. She had mentioned 10 online accounts as perpetrators.
