Who among us hasn’t uploaded a photo or five in traditional wear on social media? Bhumika Maheshwari, a homeopathic doctor, had posted one of herself in a blue silk saree on X, with a caption paying tribute to her mother. Days later, it was reposted close to a dozen times by strangers in a compilation of photos of other women, crassly captioned “Diwali patakas”. 
 
Maheshwari is among scores of women who found their Diwali photos reposted without consent and objectified in such threads on X. “I felt so violated,” says the health content creator, “I know I posted the photo on a public platform, but everyone does that on Diwali. And as a content creator, I should be able to share a photo with my followers without the threat of strangers misusing it.”

When Maheshwari and the other women requested that their photos be taken down from the threads, citing a breach of privacy, the perpetrators doubled down and said there was nothing illegal about this—they were merely sharing a photo posted on a public platform.