On Sunday (March 12), the official Twitter handle of the US embassy in India stirred the hornet’s nest after it endorsed controversial radio jockey Sayema Rahaman for Women’s History Month.
“Breaking gender barriers with her powerful voice and messages, RJ Sayema is a trailblazer in broadcasting who inspires us to Embrace Equity. A Radio Jockey and YouTuber, she often uses her platforms to amplify diverse voices and inspire change. #Women History Month,” it said in a tweet.
The archive of the tweet can be accessed here. The development comes days after the US senate voted in favour of the nomination of Eric Michael Garcetti, who openly labelled the humanitarian Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as ‘discriminatory, as the US ambassador to India.
Netizens were miffed at the choice of their ‘personality’ for Women’s History Month. A Twitter user remarked, “Most of her tweets in social networking platforms were communal and regressive.”
One Rahul added, “So America has now openly started to encourage extremists in India.”
“What a shame U.S. Embassy! She is definitely not our inspiration but an Islamic bigot. Correct yourself please,” another user pointed out.
Author Anshul Pandey inquired, “So being Anti-Sanatan is a big achievement as per the US embassy in India.”
One Dr Rajendra Nirantar wrote, “Shocked and surprised by the choice and the mindset.”
Another Twitter user posted, “Very soon the US Embassy will declare Osama bin Laden as a Sufi saint.”
Problematic views of Sayema
In December 2019, the radio jockey was seen inciting a mob to hold demonstrations outside the Delhi police headquarters against alleged police brutality against Jamia students. Following outrage on social media, she was quick to delete the tweet.
In December 2020, Sayema was a frontrunner in creating an atmosphere of vaccine hesitancy in India. In a hurry to discredit Covaxin, she falsely claimed that Haryanan BJP Minister Anil Vij tested positive a month after he was administered the indigenously developed Covid-19 jab.
In the same year, a video featuring Sayema went viral online wherein she was seen legitimising the usage of radical Islamic terms such as ‘Kafir’ and ‘Jihad’ and thus normalising anti-Hindu bigotry.
In July 2022, Sayema was seen peddling disinformation about Hindu men posing as Muslims and offering namaz inside the Lulu mall in Lucknow. She was also at the helm of downplaying atrocities, committed against the Hindu community by her co-religionists, on social media.
The radio jockey was also seen patronising and virtue-signalling the Hindu community during the festival of Diwali in 2017. Sayema has defended Coronavirus ‘superspreader’ Tablighi Jamaat and even tried to fool her audience about Islamic scriptures.