Smita
Smita is a queer feminist based in Bombay, India. They hold a Master's degree in Media and Cultural Studies from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Their areas of interest include gender, queer studies, internet, technology, popular culture, films and TV shows, fandoms etc. Smita is currently working at Point of View, India, on gender, sexuality and technology. She can be generally found wandering the cyberspace, or hunting for good coffee.
Editorial
Are we just ticking boxes: Bringing up and expanding notions of gender in internet policy and governance
Can policy and law accommodate genders that are not confined by the binaries or are fluid? Spaces around governance often display an acute dysphasia and inability to comprehend what lies beyond and between categories, especially of gender.
Editorial
¿Se trata solo de marcar casilleros? Crear y ampliar nociones de género en las políticas y la gobernanza de internet
En los espacios de políticas de tecnologías y gobernanza de internet las conversaciones sobre la inclusión de género (léase mujeres) van en aumento, lento aunque progresivo, en un intento de cerrar la brecha digital de género. Pero esta conversación ¿acaso incluye a las personas transgénero y las personas no convencionales respecto del género?
Feminist talk
The nerdiest and most open of them all: Internet Freedom Festival 2017
The Internet Freedom Festival is refreshingly different from most forums around internet rights and technology - it is almost equal in gender ratio, welcoming of gender non conforming and trans persons, and takes privacy of its participants at the venue seriously. Smita Vanniyar tells us more about their experience at the festival this year in Valencia, Spain.
Feminist talk
Defining their place: Gender at the Internet Governance Forum 2016
The Internet Governance Forum has been valuable as a multistakeholder space that facilitates the discussion and dialogue of public policy issues pertaining to the Internet. Over the years several feminists, activists and others interested in diverse representation have been participating in IGF and observing how concerns related to gender, sexuality, and the internet are raised and addressed....
In depth
In Search of Allies: Interview with TBTT campaigners in India
In this set of interviews, Smita Vanniyar speaks to Japleen Pasricha of Feminism in India, and Divya Rajgopal of WhyHate. In separate ways, both these are projects of passion that find ways to reclaim technology for women and also others marginalised on account of gender non-conformity, sexuality, caste, religion and class. They discuss the pros and cons of anonymity, how to address online VAW...
Feminist talk
I delete myself: anonymity and sexuality online
The fact that the Internet allows women to be anonymous has greatly aided in increased freedom of expression as well as in combating sexual discrimination, violence as well as domestic abuse. Even with the points in favour of right to anonymity being far and wide, it is not seen as a priority in many countries. Human rights activists and the civil society are only beginning to acknowledge that...
