Image description: Woman holding sign

Feminist talk

Online protests against Poland's abortion law become stronger

Posted Tue 12 Jan 2021 - 04:12 | 4,807 views

New changes to Poland's abortion law could effectively ban abortion. Online protests have been building momentum to counter the force of the government, even as the pandemic rages on in Europe.

Image description: Mural depicting mermaid-like figures

Feminist talk

My Sextortion Birthday: Digital Violence During COVID-19

Posted Tue 11 Aug 2020 - 04:49 | 4,340 views

The lockdown raises questions around digital security and safety. From online conferences being hacked to individual women targeted for extortion, there is a lot happening. In this personal essay, one woman navigates sextortion through expression, art and fantasy.

Image description: Composite image of Instagram posts by author

Feminist talk

Cummunity Standards

Posted Mon 25 May 2020 - 09:13 | 8,346 views

Across different countries there has been a recorded surge of domestic violence against women especially, but has there been an increase in violence and harassment online? Morgan Barbour shares how she has dealt with increased violence and harassment online since the lockdown began, and how it is now part of her art.

Image: Photograph and art by GayXSwan

Feminist talk

Who Run The Instagram Live? Girls!

Posted Fri 22 May 2020 - 09:00 | 4,755 views

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Shakespeare wrote most of his plays during the bubonic plague, and now women and queer artists use the internet and social media to open up spaces for marginalised communities and bodies.

Image description: Dr. Li Wenliang with mask

Feminist talk

What you need to know about censorship in China around COVID-19

Posted Sat 2 May 2020 - 08:18 | 5,677 views

The pandemic has amplified our need for a safe and secure internet, but can we have one now without surveillance and censorship. Read here to know what happened at the original epicentre of the COVID-19 virus and what measures of internet censorship were deemed necessary by the Chinese government to bring the pandemic under control.

Publication

Where's the party at? and Our Virtual Histories: Research and reflections from Ikhtyar

Posted Tue 4 Feb 2020 - 06:01 | 4,100 views

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.

Image description: Water cannons on protestors in HOng Kong

Feminist talk

Where is feminism in the Hong Kong protests? Issues in the context of the anti-extradition movement

Posted Tue 19 Nov 2019 - 10:19 | 16,963 views

What can feminists expect from the revolution of our times? In this article about the recent uprising in Hong Kong against the control of the Beijing government, we take a look at the complexities that feminists and LGBTQI+ activists have to live with, in spite of working for freedom and democracy alongside and in movements.

Image description: Illustration of protesters

Feminist talk

We are Sisters in Islam

Posted Thu 3 Oct 2019 - 04:12 | 15,916 views

In 2019 the High Court of Malaya (Malaysia) upheld a fatwa ruling that bans the organisation Sisters in Islam for going against Islamic teachings. In particular, this ruling limits their use of social media. Read more to hear about the complexities of activism and speech in Malaysia for feminist groups and individuals.

Image description: People working at separate desks to make screens

In depth

Are we any better at judging right from wrong? Automation in content moderation

Posted Mon 23 Sep 2019 - 15:11 | 10,014 views

Censorship has been replaced online by a system of content moderation controlled by companies, and these rely on both automation as well as human moderators employed to sift through content. The choice is not between the alleged neutrality of the impersonal machine and the errors and finiteness of human moderation, as both work in tandem.

Image description: Plenary session at Asia Pacific IGF 2019

Feminist talk

Advocating for better ICT laws at the Asia Pacific Internet Governance Forum

Posted Thu 8 Aug 2019 - 06:05 | 4,113 views

The Asia Pacific Internet Governance Forum just completed in July 2019 and it took place in Russia. There were very few sessions that dealt with either gender or human rights and none that addressed sexuality. At one session there were discussions on the ICT related-laws and particularly on the broad and unclear provisions that deal with online censorship.