Internet & women’s rights: how do they relate to economic justice?
This edition reflects on the feminist politics and practices of technology within the broader debates around economic justice and women’s rights at the 12th AWID Forum that ran from April 19 to 22, 2012 in Istanbul, Turkey. GenderIT.orgi's writers and partners report on the opportunities presented by open interneti for women’s organizing ranging from online mapping of street harassment, documenting video testimonies of women or producing powerful infographics. At same time, the number of contributions spell out the challenges. "As we rely more and more on social media for our activism," writes one of our contributors,"knowing about security and privacy is really key." The authors also question the notion of 'free online services' and critique governmentis and private corporations for censorship, surveillancei and monetization of our relationships, networks and communications for the purpose of profit. This edition is therefore also a call to connect and act. As Jan Moolman highlighted in her editorial:"unless women are at the table where decisions around governing the internet are made by governments and corporations,..., women will be on the menu."
To read more feminist talks and reflections on the 12th AWID Forum visit GenderIT.org @ 12th AWID Forum 2012
Photo of the photo-art exhibit at the 12the AWID forum honoring and celebrating the lives and work of feminists by AWID. Used with permission.
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Internet governance: If we are not at the table, we will be on the menu.
In 2001, while working at Agenda, a South African feminist academic journal, we produced an edition titled ‘Globalisation: challenging dominant discourses’. The journal problematised the realpolitik of a global neo-liberal economic system that was marked by developing countries’ indebtedness, the rise of the market and the devastating consequences of structural adjustment policies for women of the global South. A quote from Vivienne Taylor, from DAWN – Development Alternatives for Women in a New Era who contributed to that edition – stayed with me. She wrote: “In this era of globalization there have been more rules, standards, policies and institutions for open global markets than for people and their rights”...
