Journalist Tehmina Kaoosji on normalising women’s rights in media and speaking out in an over-saturated Internet era

Through her work, Kaoosji highlights systemic injustices, using her platform to push for change in governance, media integrity, and women’s rights.

She also refuses to remain silent about the social ills of tech facilitated gender based violence (TVGBV), stalking, and online abuse that is often experienced by women who use social media and Internet platforms for activism today.

“Digital abuse that can also escalate into physical violence and stalking is a continued reality and pitfall for women who use social media for activism,” Kaoosji says. “Pushback definitely exists and also personally impacts me via TFGBV. However, we’re increasing in number, especially as awareness grows about the ways in which patriarchal superstructures like legislation, gender stereotypes and social norms also harm men and boys. Today, in 2025, there are many more visible feminist allies and active advocates in Malaysian media and social media platforms.”

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In recent years, she has been at the forefront of discussions on digital media ethics, press freedom, and the evolving socio-political climate in Malaysia. 

In this chat with Tatler, Kaoosji opens up about digital decay, the shifting landscape of media and activism, and how women can protect their safety and wellbeing in this volatile environment.

If you could tell your 20-year-old self one secret about her future self, what would it be?

20-year-old Tehmina had so much to say but really struggled to have her voice heard.

Now, a regular day in my life can entail crafting advocacy campaigns, facilitating workshops, speaking on stages, booking expert interviews,  moderating discussions on live television or for audiences of hundreds and sometimes thousands of people on the intersections of media, politics and public policy with a focus on women’s rights and social justice. She would have been so chuffed to know how it all turned out, after two decades of putting in the work.

Tell us your biggest professional and personal milestones in 2024.

2024 marked a pivotal moment in our collective history, with sociocultural, geopolitical and technological forces reaching a tipping point. Turning 40 and entering a new decade of personal growth in this year has felt very apt as I thrive on change and new energy. 

The Big Picture (TBP), my communications consultancy team and I curated and organised the third edition of the Malaysia Women & Girls Forum, (MWGF) themed ‘Women & Nation Building’ supported by the United Nations and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Malaysia. It’s been very heartening to see that some of the MWGF 2024 resolutions, in particular for gender mainstreaming and women’s equal representation in nation building—highlighted at the national level commemorations for International Women’s Day (IWD) 2025. 

With Malaysia as ASEAN Chair this year, it’s an incredible time to truly commit to and also operationalise intentional capacity building for developing female leaders in political, corporate and community spaces. The groundwork set for Gender Equality in 2025 will prove crucial for uplifting us as a society and a key regional economy on the road to 2050. 

In October 2024, I co-facilitated an International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) workshop entitled ‘Rewriting the Story: Tackling Media Gender Stereotypes in Political and Public Life’ Training of Trainers. In the process, I also earned my own certification as a qualified trainer for this topic, which is very close to my heart and the sum total of my advocacy and consultancy work.

Give us an example of a personal experience that illustrates both the power and the pitfalls of using social media for activism.

The downward spiral of Twitter now known as X, is an excellent example of this. Since acquisition by problematic tech billionaire, Elon Musk in October 2022, it  has lost much of its value as a platform for public discourse. 

In the quest for monetising and driving subscription premiums by users what actually rose was: widespread trolling, a noticeable increase in AI-generated spam content and bot activity, including accounts promoting adult content, often referred to as ‘sex bots’, viral misinformation and hate speech, including acrid, gendered attacks on women activists and human rights defenders. 

This is a direct outcome of huge slashes to content moderation on the platform with paid users instead being prioritised in replies. I made the decision to stop using X as a platform once account verification was removed. This meant minimal traction for my posts on the feed. Additionally, every post I was making on social and women’s rights issues was being spammed with sex bot and pornographic content.

It was not a difficult decision to make—should I continue to stay active on X, where I had built a following over a decade—at the cost of amplifying harmful sex and porn bots with full length violent pornography video links in the comments OR boycott X and focus on other social media platforms? I went with the latter and now crosspost my online advocacy and explainers on BlueSky, Threads, Instagram and occasionally LinkedIn. 

How have you navigated those more dangerous and negative aspects of social media? 

Online stalkers using my pictures and images on their own profiles and in the most recent one, the individual in question had been obsessively following my social media activity and even used AI to edit his picture and mine to make it appear like we are in the picture together. 

I took the necessary actions, reported it immediately and had the profile taken down by the social media platform while blocking the user and all future accounts. I’ve also had the unfortunate experience of another online stalker attempting to accost me in person at a physical location, so I respond quickly when it comes to my attention. 

Any advice for other women faced with similar issues? 

A few ways to ensure we’re protected while making an impact: 

• Be social-media savvy. Learn about or attend webinars that explain the impacts of Tech Facilitated Gender Based Violence and online abuse on women. Understand which platforms you’re most vulnerable on and take active steps to address this by bolstering your cybersecurity.
• Document and report Tech Facilitated Gender Based Violence. Save emails, voicemails and texts. Take screenshots on social media and copy direct links whenever possible. Ensure to save it in secure, multiple formats. This may prove valuable especially in assessing whether an online threat might become an offline attack.
• Don’t feed the trolls is always sound advice. One tactic which I recommend is counter-speech by forcefully denouncing harassment and hate, defending your reputation and fact-checking disinformation in responses, if you do indeed have the time and mental space to respond.
• Call out Tech Facilitated Gender Based Violence by reaching out to trusted friends, family, colleagues and cyber allies. TFGBV is meant to isolate women and doing the opposite helps to build a trauma-informed community of support during potential crises when you’re being attacked online.

Women’s rights advocacy is often expected to be ‘palatable’ or ‘diplomatic.’ Have you ever felt pressured to soften your message? 

My approach towards content and crafting advocacy on gender equality issues draws deeply from my professional background as a teacher, communications consultant and broadcast journalist. I’ve never felt pressured to censor the content of my message. Instead, I frankly highlight data, statistics or the lack therein to frame the importance of the issues I discuss.

Focusing on root causes helps to demystify taboo topics of discussion like period poverty, marital rape, male violence against women and girls, femicide and this in turn amplifies and encourages other advocates, civil society organisations and media allies towards the ultimate goal of policy level reform and gender responsive budgeting. These can only be achieved when women’s rights issues are continually discussed in the public sphere. 

Front & Female Changemakers celebrates the extraordinary journeys of inspiring women who have emerged as powerful changemakers in a range of fields, offering a glimpse into their lives and showcasing their courage, vision and relentless pursuit of change and progress. From social entrepreneurs and business leaders to educators, artists, activists and scientists, Front & Female changemakers exemplify the ability to challenge the status quo and demonstrate the power of women to effect change.

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