Lebanon/Syria : The virtual battle of misogynist hashtags and the weaponization of women

A virtual battle, fueled by a war of misogynistic hashtags, has erupted on platform X between Lebanon and Syria. In this context, women become instruments of the confessional and ideological war between the two countries. Hashtags such as #Sexual_Jihad and #Pleasure_Marriage are used to humiliate the opponent and assert their “dominance,” categorizing women either as symbols of vice or icons of purity, depending on what serves their interests. This weaponization of women reduces them to mere objects, with their dignity trampled through hateful discourse, tweet exchanges, and the spread of false information and images about their sexuality. Thus, women are doubly victimized: on one hand, they are instrumentalized by religious discourses that reduce them to men’s pleasure, and on the other, they are judged by society based on notions of "purity" or "honor" tied to their sexuality. In response to this situation, the feminist platform Sharika Walaken has called for an end to this war, emphasizing that religious institutions must confront this systematic dehumanization, or else actively participate in it.

See : Sharika Walaken