freedom of association

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.

Between the crisis brought about by the anti-gender backlash, the strength of new voices speaking about intersectionality and gender expression from the LGBTI communities in different parts of the world - NOW marks a moment when we should look at what should be our priorities and concerns in relation to internet and technology.

What is the impact of the social media tax in Uganda on the lives of ordinary people - including their productivity and income, access and usage of social media and the internet. Through interviews and discussions, the report explores how people are affected by the tax on the use of platforms such as Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter.

In recent times there has been a dramatic increase in the use of internet and social media by Palestinians. In this context there is also a rising wave of online gender-based violence that leads to intimidation of women and self-censorship, which means that often women are withdrawing from social media platforms that are an arena of political and social confrontation against the Israeli…

This pa­per ser­ves to dis­cuss di­gi­tal as a space for po­li­tics to play out, in par­ti­cu­lar in re­la­ti­on to pu­blics and coun­ter pu­blics. It does so through the lens of what oc­cur­red in 2012 at Jo­han­nes­burg Pri­de South Af­ri­ca.

Syrian activist and blogger Razan Ghazzawi and Lebanese activist, blogger and APC's EROTICS project coordinator Nadine Moawad were joined by Kate Kroeger, Executive Director of the Urgent Action Fund and Mary Lawlor, Executive Director of Front Line Defenders for a lively panel on the challenges faced by women human rights defenders and what the international community can do to help.

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…