freedom of expression

In India, the largest democracy on Earth, 21-year old girl Shaheen Dhada was arrested for posting a status update on Facebook questioning the complete shutdown of cities for Bal Thackeray’s (rightwing leader notorious for inciting religious hatred and violence) funeral on Sunday, 18th November. Her friend Renu Srinivas was also arrested for “liking” the update which reportedly read: "People like…

What I most value about the IGF is that thanks to its multi-stakeholder principle, it widens my perspective on pressing internet governance issues. However, all three sessions I attended on day two in room number four, while talking about human rights, failed to include women's right perspective. Women internet users are important stakeholder and it is evident that even after six years of…

This is a selection of the tweets circulated during the Internet Governance Forum in Baku, Azerbaijan, from November 6-9 2012. They were selected following the criteria of its relevance in reflecting the discussions around women’s role in internet governance processes, as well as women’s and internet rights during the IGF.

This publication seeks to identify the relationship between freedom of expression and internet privacy, assessing where they support or compete with each other in different circumstances. The book maps out the issues in the current regulatory landscape of internet privacy from the viewpoint of freedom of expression. It provides an overview of legal protection, self-regulatory guidelines,…

A big hangar, with a constant voice asking people to wear headphones and talk to each other through the microphones, an internet network that does not allow participants to be online simultaneously, with an average of only one person out of three being able to access full online services and the other two struggling with their different devices to reach out, comment and communicate what is…

Nighat Dad from "Digital Rights Foundation, Pakistan":http://www.digitalrightsfoundation.pk speaks to Arzu Geybullayeva, a regional analyst and a blogger from Azerbaijan. Arzu's areas of interest are regional politics, conflict resolution, and new social media. In their "feminist talk” Nighat asks Arzu about her impressions of the 7th…

This edition of GenderIT.org explores the online safety of women human rights defenders from the perspective of national security and counter-terrorism. National security often encompasses a variety of security threats, including those in cyberspace. While national security measures are meant to protect the security of a nation and its citizen, in many contexts they serve as a pretext for…

I was very happy when I was asked to be guest editor of this edition of GenderIT.org on women human rights defenders (WHRD) and national cyber security policies. This is an important and timely issue for WHRDs because the misuse of counter-terrorism legislation to quell dissent and further marginalise minority voices is on the rise.

GenderIT.org correspondent Mavic Cabrera-Balleza interviews Yara Sallam, Manager of the Women Human Rights Defenders Program at Nazra for Feminist Studies in Egypt, on the challenging reality for women human rights defenders, how they are affected by measures taken by the government in the name of “national security”, and strategies used to address threats to WHRD's cybersecurity.

Jennifer Radloff and Grady Johnson speak to a Syrian activist in exile about the government increasing tendency to securitize the internet and crack down freedom of expression and freedom to privacy on-line. They also talk how limited access to ICTs, self-censorship due to widespread surveillance and reliance on commercial social networks in combination with a general lack of technical knowledge…