"Building too many dams in the Himalayas has lead to this. Prayers for the people of Chamoli," said Dia Mirza after India woke up to the glacier burst that hit a part of Uttarakhand today. The devastation, as seen in the videos, is colossal and the avalanche wiped out people, power stations and caused the water level in the Dhauliganga river to surge.
A glacier burst at the Reni village of Chamoli district in Uttarakhand has triggered a massive flood in the Joshimath area. Around 100-150 are feared dead due to the resultant flash floods.
Dia Mirza, an actor-activist who speaks on environmental issues regularly was trolled for her views on the disaster and was criticised for being an 'arm chair activist.' Some even said, 'Dia Mirza is an environmentalist like Mia Khalifa is a farmer.'
Dia Mirza trolled for Activism, she said dams reasons behind Uttarakhand disaster
Dia Mirza is in full right to speak up
Dia Mirza is in full right to speak up as a citizen and as an environment-activist. To be one, all that it takes is the concern about our environment, the knowledge of how development is threatening our nature. No number degrees are a prerequisite for us to speak up.
Mirza incidentally is also appointed as an official Sustainable Development Goals Advocate By UN Environment. She has been an eco-warrior for nearly a decade and talks about issues from tigers to dams, pretty routinely.
"I've been a UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador and SDG advocate for over a year now and could not be more proud of the work the UN does every day. Sustainability and peace are extremely personal goals for me and I stand in solidarity with the UN in their mission and vision," she wrote on her social media on UN Day.
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Picture Credit: SheThePeople
Trolling Women
Trolling of women isn't new. Twitter has become a toxic place where women are threatened for speaking up, for having views and relaying any intelligent commentary. Just because a particular view doesn't agree with twitterati, trolls take over and question the same. The abuse, the trolling is deeply gendered, because when women speak up, they aren't just mocked for what they are saying. Trolls raise questions on their 'intelligence' and put out anonymous threats.
Arm Chair Activism
Each of us have a right to speak up as citizens of a democratic country. Some of us can go on the streets to protests, many can get involved in building a knowledge factory, while others can raise their voice on social media or television channels. We deserve the right to choose how we want to, can contribute to the good fight.
What do you think?
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