Small thoughts around...

In the article to which the ‘“J” spot’ refers, Maria Suarez explored why Section J was not a priority issue during the Beijing +10 review. Five years later, can we claim that it has happened? Or do circular ‘development’ debates continue to perpetuate the false dichotomy between ‘hard issues' such as access to water and housing and ‘soft issues’ including women’s rights to own, access, use and shape media and communication tools and platforms? Do we still feel forced into ‘choosing’ between the struggle to end violence against womenⁱ or eradicate poverty and the struggle for our rights to freedom of expressionⁱ, access to informationⁱ, and to tell our own stories? We want to, together with other activists and partners whom we have had the privilege of working with and learning from over the years, find women’s “J” spot.

The most talked-about aspect of the current situation in Iran, is Twitter. In the past weeks Twitter has reportedly provided opportunities for Iranian protesters to send out information during that governmentⁱ's refusal to allow (mostly Western) journalists to report on the aftermath of the (suspect) re-election of Mahmoud Ahmedinejad. So the hottest tweet is possibly, ironically, about Twitter itself.

This edition of GenderIT.orgⁱ examines the issue of cybercrimeⁱ legislation through a gendered perspective and its implication on women, in collaboration with  the ICT Policyⁱ Monitor Latinamerica and the Caribbean team of the Association for Progressive Communicationsⁱ. The focus of this edition was catalysed by issues and questions raised by our readers on the increasing pervasiveness of cybercrime legislations in different regions, and their potential impact on women's communication rights. The articles in this edition portray the current cybercrime landscape and its gendered dimensions in different regions of the world – including India, Burkina Faso, Chile, Brazil, Venezuela and Bolivia.

The current edition of GenderIT.orgⁱ approaches the problematic issue of women´s health and its interconnectionⁱ with information and communication technologies (ICTs) policies. ICTs have an enormous strategic potential to locate women at the centre of health initiatives. In an attempt to contribute to this discussion, in this edition GenderIT.orgⁱ writers analyze some of the existing challenges and experiences about this subject in Uruguay, West Africa, Uganda and a summary overview around integration of ICTs into health initiatives around the world.