social media
Feminist talk
[COLUMN] Access and Beyond (3): Navigating mobile costs in communication
Africa is flooded with zero rating services such as Free Basics (Facebook’s zero rating scheme) and other subsidised data strategies. Do these schemes make internet more affordable and bring access to more people? In this column Chenai Chair examines whether ordinary people perceive such schemes as useful.
Feminist talk
[COLUMN] How women in the global south are RECLAIMING SOCIAL MEDIA to combat femicide
In this new column on reclaiming social media for addressing women's issues and feminist concerns, Samukelisiwe Mabaso begins by looking at the rising rates of femicide in South Africa (and other parts of the world). Various spontaneous movements led and powered by women have arisen and use technology and social media to amplify their voices and ensure their demands are met.
In depth
Did Facebook finally figure out that consent is more important than nipples?
In April 2017 Facebook announced a new tool that will prevent an intimate image posted without consent from being shared further on Facebook, Messenger and Instagram. Erika Smith and Fungai Machirori go deep and debate the pros and cons of this proposed system, and how feminist-friendly and positive about alternate sexualities it is.
Feminist talk
Working out access on our own: Community projects, gender and internet
As our cities turn smart and countries turn digital the gender gap in terms of internet access is disturbing. The lack of access directly relates to the loss of rights of women and minorities. Sadly there is a long way to go before we close this gap. Chinmayi S K explores projects that attempted in innovative ways to address the digital gender gap online.
Feminist talk
10 ways to make Twitter work for feminist activism
How to bring the powerful agency and discourse of women's rights movements and feminism to the digital age of Twitter and other social media. Samukelisiwe Mabaso has researched on various movements across Africa and Asia that successfully and effectively use technology, and shows us ten ways in which to make Twitter work for feminist activism. Lets get in formation!
Feminist talk
Its 2016 and Facebook is still terrified of women's nipples
Facebook's arbitrary policy on women's nipples has angered many, who find their content removed or accounts suspended or banned. Japleen Pasricha writes about being repeatedly 'punished' by Facebook for posting content on the social media platform that is feminist and bold, about young women growing up and even images of protest by women in Manipur against the oppression of the Indian army and...
In depth
Trafficking in Women: female objectification
A conservative estimate is that 42 million people are prostituted worldwide, of which 90% are exploited by pimps, and every year 2 million people are added to this number. Latin America has 10% of trafficking in persons for sexual activities - nearly half of the victims are children and youth under 18 years. Human trafficking is considered the third most profitable form of crime in the world,...
Publication
Looking for evidence of gender inequality in sexual harassment on Twitter
Twitter has been chosen for this study developed by Katharina Jens, a Media and Communication graduate from the London School of Economics and Political Science, because it has become a platform where abuse has become the most visible following the attacks of the women above. This thesis sets out to empirically provide evidence for the inequality produced online, by analysing a snap-shot of the...
Feminist talk
Why I decided to study feminist activism on social media
"As part of my research, I found it important to not just study and document such instances of misogynistic violence in online spaces but also instances of activism, of resistance, of solidarity," states Sujatha Subramanian in this great article that tracks back the path she walked to write "From the streets to the web: Looking at feminist activism on social media".
Publication
Internet intermediaries and violence against women online: User policies and redress framework of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube
A recent report, “Internet intermediaries and violence against women online” released by the Association for Progressive Communications for the “End violence: Women’s rights and safety online” project, analyses the policies and redress framework of the three major internet intermediaries: Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, in regard to violence against women online. These case studies allow APC to...
