Internet rights activism

Nighat Dad has been granted the 2016 Human Rights Tulip Award by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs

While Pakistan’s human rights situation appears bleak on the ground, one woman is fighting the cause through a new approach — that of Internet rights activism. Nighat Dad, founder and executive director of the Digital Rights Foundation, has been granted the 2016 Human Rights Tulip Award by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs for her project, which provides support and protection to female users of the Internet, with regards to cyber harassment and security. Dad deserves not just this award, but the attention, respect, and support of our policymakers and the Pakistani public for her cause to empower women through freedom of expression and equal rights.

Dad’s project is special in that it draws focus towards women’s freedom of expression in a culture that has the proclivity to silence female input on matters. Although the project seems decades ahead of our time, we must consider that we are in the 21^st century and many in the country still maintain medieval ideologies when it comes to treatment towards women; thus, we need to accelerate the rate at which we are advancing. The work is relevant as Pakistan is gradually gaining more Internet users and connectivity even in remote areas of the country is increasing. If the trends on the Internet mirror the treatment meted out to women offline with 3,000 complaints launched this year so far according to the National Response Centre for Cyber Crime, the Digital Rights Foundation has a gargantuan task. Cases of cyberbullying and harassment globally in the past have reported rape and suicide resulting, underscoring the imperative need for an Internet safety campaign. While the topic is nascent for our developing country, now is the time to implement legislation to guide Internet safety and use because when we are left in an anarchic state without laws to guide us, we tend to abuse the privileges we are granted. In this light, Dad’s work deserves recognition for her pioneering approach to protect our large vulnerable female population.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 9^th, 2016.

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