NEW DELHI: With their parents bombarding them on WhatsApp with misinformation and even abuse over their stand on India’s new citizenship law, young women are hiding their identities on social media to voice outrage and find alternative families.
Young people, particularly women, have been at the forefront of the ongoing wave of protests over the law, but this can be dangerous in a largely conservative and patriarchal society.
When Priya takes part in protests, for example, the fear of the riot police — 25 people have died in the past almost two weeks — comes second to the terror of her bigoted Hindu father finding out her whereabouts and halting her education.
“He just has this hatred of Muslims — every opportunity he has lost in life, he blames them,” says Priya, 20, too scared to give her real name in case her New Delhi family find out.
“I have tried so many times to talk to him. But every conversation we have ends with him threatening to pull me out of college and get me married off,” the student says.
Her story is reflected across India’s dining tables, FaceTime chats and WhatsApp family groups in what is turning out to be the biggest challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he rose to power in 2014.
“My father keeps spamming me on WhatsApp with fake news and videos — it’s really frustrating,” says Priya.
She used to hit back with links to fact-checking websites before his threats to end her education forced her to hide her political views from her parents.
Her father, she says, has no idea about her Twitter account, where she uses a handle that shields her identity.
These WhatsApp wars have effectively upended personal relationships, says Anshul Tewari, editor-in-chief of Youth Ki Awaaz, a crowdsourced news website focusing on India’s youth.
“Young people today care enormously about having a voice and being heard,” Tewari says, pointing to the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong and climate change marches around the world.
But unlike their global counterparts, young Indians have to find ways to express themselves against the backdrop of a culture which places a huge premium on parental authority.
“In many cases, Indian parents feel entitled to decide who their children should love, how they should live and even how they should think,” says Tewari.
That sense of control is particularly pronounced when it comes to the lives of young women, he adds.
At 27, Sweta Bagaria — not her real name — describes herself as the black sheep of her family because she insisted on getting a job, the first woman in her family to do so.
Bagaria accuses her conservative Hindu parents of physical and financial abuse — controlling her bank account, beating her, and refusing to hand over documents required to rent a flat.
Like Priya, the Mumbai-based video editor has been actively involved in the demonstrations against the citizenship law, which she calls “a gross violation of human rights.”
Her views have driven an even bigger wedge between her and her parents, who she describes as bigots unwilling to employ or work with Muslims.
“I used to feel really alone until this year, when I found an online community on Twitter who are going through similar conflicts at home,” she says, referring to them as her “alternate family.”
“Also, at the end of the day, I know that my struggles are nothing compared to what others in this country, especially Muslims, are going through,” she says.
“That makes it even more important for me to show up.”
Since the demonstrations kicked off, Bagaria — who is an avid Twitter user — has shared pamphlets and produced a video urging others to protest.
She has chalked up a few successes on that front, such as convincing a friend who had never even bothered to vote to participate in a string of demonstrations.
But she has little hope of ever being able to persuade her family.
“I tried for years. There’s no reaching them,” she says.
WhatsApp wars over India protests divide families
https://arab.news/9vuea
WhatsApp wars over India protests divide families
- Young people, particularly women, have been at the forefront of the ongoing wave of protests over the law
- But this can be dangerous in a largely conservative and patriarchal society
A look back at how Arab News marked its 50th anniversary
- In a year crowded with news, the paper still managed to innovate and leverage AI to become available in 50 languages
- Golden Jubilee Gala, held at the Diplomatic Quarter in Riyadh, now available to watch on YouTube
RIYADH: In 2025, the global news agenda was crowded with headlines concerning wars, elections and rapid technological change.
Inside the newsroom of Arab News, the year carried additional weight: Saudi Arabia’s first English-language daily marked its 50th anniversary.
And with an industry going through turmoil worldwide, the challenge inside the newsroom was how to turn a midlife crisis into a midlife opportunity.
For the newspaper’s team members, the milestone was less about nostalgia than about ensuring the publication could thrive in a rapidly changing and evolving media landscape.
“We did not want just to celebrate our past,” said Faisal J. Abbas, editor-in-chief of Arab News. “But more importantly, we were constantly thinking of how we can keep Arab News relevant for the next five decades.”
The solution, he added, came down to two words: “Artificial intelligence.”
For the Arab News newsroom, AI was not a replacement for journalism but as a tool to extend it.
“It was like having three eyes at once: one on the past, one on the present, and one on the future,” said Noor Nugali, the newspaper’s deputy editor-in-chief.
One of the first initiatives was the 50th anniversary commemorative edition, designed as a compact historical record of the region told through Arab News’ own reporting.
“It was meant to be like a mini history book, telling the history of the region using Arab News’ archive with a story from each year,” said Siraj Wahab, acting executive editor of the newspaper.
The issue, he added, traced events ranging from the outbreak of the Lebanese civil war in 1975 to the swearing-in of Donald Trump, while also paying homage to former editors-in-chief who shaped the newspaper’s direction over five decades.
The anniversary edition, however, was only one part of a broader strategy to signal Arab News’ focus on the future.
To that end, the paper partnered with Google to launch the region’s first AI-produced podcast using NotebookLM, an experimental tool that synthesizes reporting and archival material into audio storytelling.
The project marked a regional first in newsroom-led AI audio production.
The podcast was unveiled during a special 50th anniversary ceremony in mid-November, held on the sidelines of the Arab Media Forum, hosted by the Dubai Future Foundation. The event in the UAE’s commercial hub drew regional media leaders and officials.
Remarks at the event highlighted the project as an example of innovation in legacy media, positioning Arab News as a case study in digital reinvention rather than preservation alone.
“This is a great initiative, and I’m happy that it came from Arab News as a leading media platform, and I hope to see more such initiatives in the Arab world especially,” said Mona Al-Marri, director-general of the Government of Dubai Media Office, on the sidelines of the event.
“AI is the future, and no one should deny this. It will take over so many sectors. We have to be ready for it and be part of it and be ahead of anyone else in this interesting field.”
Behind the scenes, another long-form project was taking shape: a documentary chronicling Arab News’ origins and its transformation into a global, digital-first newsroom.
“While all this was happening, we were also working in-house on a documentary telling the origin story of Arab News and how it transformed under the current editor into a more global, more digital operation,” said Nugali.
The result was “Rewriting Arab News,” a documentary examining the paper’s digital transformation and its navigation of Saudi Arabia’s reforms between 2016 and 2018. The film charted editorial shifts, newsroom restructuring and the challenges of reporting during a period of rapid national change.
The documentary was screened at the Frontline Club in London, the European Union Embassy, Westminster University, and the World Media Congress in Bahrain. It later became available on the streaming platform Shahid and onboard Saudi Arabian Airlines.
It was also nominated for an Association for International Broadcasting award.
In early July, a special screening of the documentary took place at the EU Embassy in Riyadh. During the event, EU Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Christophe Farnaud described the film as an “embodiment” of the “incredible changes” that the Kingdom is undergoing.
“I particularly appreciate … the historical dimension, when (Arab News) was created in 1975 — that was also a project corresponding to the new role of the Kingdom,” Farnaud said. “Now the Kingdom has entered a new phase, a spectacular phase of transformation.”
Part of the documentary is narrated by Prince Turki Al-Faisal, the former Saudi ambassador to the US, who in the film delves into the paper’s origins.
The grand slam of the anniversary year was the Golden Jubilee of Arab News gala, held in late September in Riyadh’s Diplomatic Quarter.
Hosted by the Dean of Diplomatic Corps in Saudi Arabia and Ambassador of Djibouti to Riyadh Dya-Eddine Said Bamakhrama, the evening featured a keynote address by Prince Turki, who spoke about Arab News’ founding under his father, the late King Faisal, and its original mission to present the Kingdom to the English-speaking world.
Arab News was established in Jeddah in 1975 by brothers Hisham and Mohammed Ali Hafiz under the slogan to give Arabs a voice in English while documenting the major transformations taking place across the Middle East.
The two founders were honored with a special trophy presented by Prince Turki, Assistant Media Minister Abdullah Maghlouth, Editor-in-Chief Abbas, and family member and renowned columnist Talat Hafiz on behalf of the founders.
During the gala, Abbas announced Arab News’ most ambitious expansion yet: the launch of the publication in 50 languages, unveiled later at the World Media Congress in Madrid in cooperation with Camb.AI.
The Madrid launch in October underscored Arab News’ aim to reposition itself not simply as a regional paper, but as a global platform for Saudi and Middle Eastern perspectives.
The event was attended by Princess Haifa bint Abdulaziz Al-Mogrin, the Saudi ambassador to Spain; Arab and Spanish diplomats; and senior editors and executives.
As the anniversary year concluded, Arab News released the full video of the Golden Jubilee Gala to the public for the first time, making the event accessible beyond the room in which it was held.
For a newspaper founded in an era of typewriters and wire copy, the message of its 50th year was clear: longevity alone is not enough. Relevance, the newsroom concluded, now depends on how well journalism adapts without losing sight of its past.
