In depth
Technologies for transformation : combating violence against women in the Congo
The work of the APC WNSP with organisations in Congo provides invaluable real life experiences that can be useful in discussions at international forums like the upcoming fifty-fifth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) whose theme this year is women, technology and education, according to Selina L Mudavanhu. She examines projects under the MDG3 Take Back the Tech! small grants…
Publication
Congo: Violence against Women and Information Communication Technologies
In Congo, Sylvie Niombo explores the intersection of VAW and ICTs, where mobile phone use appears to be the primary vehicle used to perpetrate VAW using ICTs. SMS and phone calls are used by some men to harass women and girls. Male monitoring of women’s use of mobile phones leads to blurring of privacy issues and power relations between men and women are reflected by who has the resources to buy…
In depth
Poverty and culture: Key barriers to education and training of women and girls in Cambodia
In this article, the director of End Child Prostitution, Abuse and Trafficking (ECPAT) Cambodia, Chanveasna Chin, speaks with GenderIT.org English editor Sonia Randhawa about the challenges facing women and girls in accessing education and training, particularly in technology.
In depth
Science and technology in Latin America: women breaking the glass ceiling
Latin American women are attaining good levels of education and training for the labour market, including knowledge of ICTs, but APC WNSP regional coordinator, Dafne Sabanes Plou acknowledges that digital inclusion as a factor in economic progress is just beginning to appear on the regional horizon and that gender equity is still sidelined from ICT policy discussions. She speaks to GenderIT.org…
Feminist talk
Challenging pornophobia and moral beliefs of Congolese media practitioners
Francoise Mukuku reports on the online discussion around ICT and violence against women organized by Genderlinks as part of the 16 Days of Activism: "As my organization Si Jeunesse Savait is implementing a 2-year project on the topic, I felt like it was really the place to be today...But let me tell you that the debate between most of the people I met online today was really far from meeting my…
Feminist talk
View, Share, Respond! Every click really counts!
This year, Take Back The Tech! calls for action to defend our right freedom of expression and information – the basic building blocks for us to be able to come together, organise for change, inform public debate, define culture, build safe spaces and end violence against women. How can we get at least 1 000 views and 1 000 comments from GenderIT.org's partners and readers to support most amazing…
Feminist talk
Democratic Republic of Congo: Letter from the world capital of rape
Francoise Mukuku reports from the world march of women against sexual violence that took place in October 2010 in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Special Rapporteur of the United Nations has named the Democratic Republic of Congo the "rape capital of the world," with 15,000 women raped in DRC only during last year. In her blog, Francoise also shares how information and…
Feminist talk
Is Pakistan putting the UN Millennium Goals at risk?
"The discussions I witnessed at IGF 2010 really brought home to me the scale of the challenges we still face, if we are to make meaningful progress towards the goals of the IGF in general, and MDG3 in particular." Nighat Dad from the Pakistan MDG3: Take Back the Tech! project assesses the outcomes of IGF and the Millenium Development Goals in the context of national debates and women’s rights.
Feminist talk
Why I took a long flight to Vilnius
Francoise examines the role that mass media play as the fourth estate or power in the world, and looks at how convergence and large media companies are threatening the positive achievements of the internet in helping to create diversity, freedom of expression and greater focus on human rights reporting.