North Africa

Ikhtyar (Arabic for choice) is an invitation to an open space for people interested in discussing gender issues, and in documenting/developing a gender knowledge base in Arabic. GenderIT showcases their recent research on online harassment and violence, the specific forms it takes in the region and language and their reflections on the research process.

Here are insights into research on online gender-based violence against women and other minorities - especially around sexual objectification, delegitimisation of public personas, non-conformity to gender stereotypes and idealised notions of womanhood. Elena Pavan shares also about doing research using data scraped from online public discourses and the key questions going forward.

In this piece, the author investigates how they witnessed alternative porn that in its core is feminist, queer and diverse on the internet.

In this article, the Zimbabwean feminist researcher and writer Fungai Machirori challenges the idea of "the global South" as a homogenous space.

Online violence and harassment mirrors the realities of persecution in the "real world" and extends the avenues for prejudice and discrimination. In Egypt, outspoken activists and Nubian people supporting the cause of Nubians to their own land and also speaking out about race and skin colour-based prejudice face virulent online attacks and are also banned by the Egyptian government.

In her third column, Samukelisiwe Mabaso explores how groups and people, artists and performers who are lesbian, gay, bisexual are using the internet and social media to spread messages about love, diversity, and acceptance. This includes projects like Coalition for African Lesbians, Gaysi, Ahwaa and others.