Women on Social Media aren’t representative of all
By Manu Shrivastava
It must be noted the segment of women that are active on social media do not represent the complete cross-section of women in the country. Internet and social media, despite the penetration in urban and rural set ups in the country, are restricted to fewer women than men. Smartphones are now household commodities but using powerful social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc., is restricted to girls and women who are educated and ‘allowed’ to be active on social media.
The #MeToo movement highlighted harassment at workplace yet is only indicative of a larger issue as a significant number of Indian women do not work and stay in the confines of their homes - before and after marriage. Instances of child abuse, harassment from family members, sexual abuse by family members such as fathers, brothers or uncles, emotional and financial abuse perpetrated by male and female members of the family are commonplace misdeeds. These acts violate a woman’s Right to Life and right to live with dignity as guaranteed by the Indian constitution.
These incidents not only go unreported as the woman feels a sense of shame in talking about it or reporting it, shamed and discouraged by her family and, despite it all, should she gather courage to approach authorities, very often complaints are not registered and if registered do not reach their logical conclusion because of the bias among authorities that works against delivery of justice.
When the ‘unIslamic’ practice of instant triple talaq was banned, millions of Muslim women in India were saved from the barbaric practice. The constant fear of being divorced in an instant and at whim was nothing less of torture.
Stalking is another offence that needs to be taken seriously by women and, more so, by the authorities. An act of stalking in person or in cyber space can lead to more serious offences such as rape or murder if not addressed in time. Other cyber crimes such as impersonation, fraud, blackmailing, identity theft, trolling, pornography, harassment, cyber bullying or forwarding videos of rape or abuse are other ways that affect women on a daily basis.
Such crimes are targeted towards the weak, mostly women and children, across social strata. However, now other groups are also getting affected and young college girls, educated and working women are falling prey. With more than 196 million social media users in India in 2017, the magnitude of the problem is huge.
Independent India has evolved and, with it, the judiciary processes and laws that have to be in-sync with the changing society. A truthful evaluation of the grassroots situation and changes occurring will need to be done, and processes introduced to do them regularly. Deterrence will need to be taken into consideration while framing laws to further their reach and potential. Also, there should be a well-planned strategy to boost awareness and change parochial mindsets, societal perception and practices alongside.
Women need to speak up for themselves, support and stand up for each other to battle perception in society and discriminatory practices that prevent their well-being and come in the way of asserting their rights as equal citizens. Famous American poet Maya Angelou had said, “Each time a woman stands for herself, she stands for all women.”
It must be noted the segment of women that are active on social media do not represent the complete cross-section of women in the country. Internet and social media, despite the penetration in urban and rural set ups in the country, are restricted to fewer women than men. Smartphones are now household commodities but using powerful social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc., is restricted to girls and women who are educated and ‘allowed’ to be active on social media.
The #MeToo movement highlighted harassment at workplace yet is only indicative of a larger issue as a significant number of Indian women do not work and stay in the confines of their homes - before and after marriage. Instances of child abuse, harassment from family members, sexual abuse by family members such as fathers, brothers or uncles, emotional and financial abuse perpetrated by male and female members of the family are commonplace misdeeds. These acts violate a woman’s Right to Life and right to live with dignity as guaranteed by the Indian constitution.
These incidents not only go unreported as the woman feels a sense of shame in talking about it or reporting it, shamed and discouraged by her family and, despite it all, should she gather courage to approach authorities, very often complaints are not registered and if registered do not reach their logical conclusion because of the bias among authorities that works against delivery of justice.
When the ‘unIslamic’ practice of instant triple talaq was banned, millions of Muslim women in India were saved from the barbaric practice. The constant fear of being divorced in an instant and at whim was nothing less of torture.
Stalking is another offence that needs to be taken seriously by women and, more so, by the authorities. An act of stalking in person or in cyber space can lead to more serious offences such as rape or murder if not addressed in time. Other cyber crimes such as impersonation, fraud, blackmailing, identity theft, trolling, pornography, harassment, cyber bullying or forwarding videos of rape or abuse are other ways that affect women on a daily basis.
Such crimes are targeted towards the weak, mostly women and children, across social strata. However, now other groups are also getting affected and young college girls, educated and working women are falling prey. With more than 196 million social media users in India in 2017, the magnitude of the problem is huge.
Independent India has evolved and, with it, the judiciary processes and laws that have to be in-sync with the changing society. A truthful evaluation of the grassroots situation and changes occurring will need to be done, and processes introduced to do them regularly. Deterrence will need to be taken into consideration while framing laws to further their reach and potential. Also, there should be a well-planned strategy to boost awareness and change parochial mindsets, societal perception and practices alongside.
Women need to speak up for themselves, support and stand up for each other to battle perception in society and discriminatory practices that prevent their well-being and come in the way of asserting their rights as equal citizens. Famous American poet Maya Angelou had said, “Each time a woman stands for herself, she stands for all women.”
