Campaigns:

Women Making Waves: DRF celebrates Women’s Day on 8th March

For Women’s Day this year, DRF launched its long awaited campaign, “Women Making Waves” which highlighted the achievements of women across a diverse range of fields. The spirit, joy, resilience and hard work of women such as Asma Jahangir, Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari, Hina Jillani and Jehan Ara was celebrated.

As part of our campaign, a virtual panel was held in the form of a Tweetchat in which speakers were invited to share their experiences and thoughts  regarding Digital Feminism.

DRF Collaborates with META to launch StopNCII

DRF worked alongside Meta to launch the StopNCII (Stop Non-Consensual Intimate Image Abuse) for users in Pakistan. The portal, available in English and Urdu, allows any victims of online blackmailing and extortion to preemptively prevent intimate images to be uploaded onto the platform without their consent.

The portal can be accessed through this link: https://stopncii.org/ or by reaching out to DRF’s Helpline

Policy Initiatives

Survey on Digital Engagement and Experiences of Youth

DRF is conducting research on the “Digital Engagement and Experiences of Pakistani Youth” to map issues faced by young people in Pakistan vis-a-viz the internet. Help us spread the word by sharing the survey among 18 - 35 year olds in Pakistan.

Access the survey: https://t.co/O9fWVCZ4er.

Trainings and Workshops

DRF hosts session with Medical Students on Online Violence

DRF held a session with the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) on Online Violence. Seerat Khan and Hyra Basit conducted a session with IFMSA with students from Allama Iqbal medical university on online violence and the legal landscape currently present in Pakistan. The session was attended by 43 students online in which they shared their experience of navigating online spaces.

UNDP Panel on Gender Equality for a Sustainable Tomorrow

International Women's Day 2022 Online Deliberation: "Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow"- On 9th March DRF’s Program Manager Seerat Khan took part in an online panel on Gender Equality today for a sustainable tomorrow for UNDP. The panel had Rukshanda Naz (Ombudsperson KP), Rabia Javeri (Chairperson National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR)), Seerat Khan (Senior Program Manager DRF) and Tahira Abdullah (Independent Human Rights Defender). The session was moderated by Salman Asif ( Senior Human Rights and Social Protection Expert UNDP). Each panelist highlighted different themes of gender based violence in Pakistan and discussed the current discourse on it. The session was in light of the International Women’s Day.

Nighat Dad Moderates Panel, “Justice, not #Hastags”

On March 5th 2022, Nighat Dad moderated a panel titled “Justice, not #hashtags: Navigating Violence Against Women and its Digital Reflection” as part of the WOW Festival 2022. The panel included DRF’s Shmyla Khan along with Imaan Mazari and Asma Shirazi. The discussion was centered around the importance and limitations of online spaces in pursuing gender justice in Pakistan.

The panel can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4HepVth81o&list=PLrgMMGAhwz5geDjpuxXZQnEwO-vwNfv7Q

Panel on Importance of Free Speech

An excellent panel was held by The Future of Free Speech on free speech and content moderation on 17th March, 2022.  Experts from the industry, academia and civil society were all present and shared their views on the importance and relevance of free speech in today’s day and age.

Stakeholder Dialogue by CPDI attended by DRF

DRF attended a stakeholder dialogue by CPDI on Punjab Local Government Ordinance 2021 on the 29th of March. The dialogue had meaningful conversations around strong local governments and making them more inclusive. The consultations was attended by MPA’s, civil society, lawyers and judges working on the issue.

DRF’s Meeting with NCHR:

DRF’s team met with the National Commission of Human Rights in Lahore to discuss issues of digital rights, including data protection, content moderation and safety. This meeting was held on 14th March, 2022.

DRF takes part in Report Launch by GPAI 2022

As part of its research as a pilot partner with the Alan Turning Institute UK, DRF took part in the GPAI 2022 “Report launch: advancing research and practice on data justice” panel. Shmyla Khan, the director for research and policy presented DRF’s findings at the panel. This panel was held on 23rd of March, 2022.

You can learn more about the project here.

The panel can be viewed here

DRF Team Meets with Ombudsperson, Punjab

DRF’s team met with the Ombudsperson (Punjab) on 30th March, 2022 to discuss issues faced by survivors of harassment at the workplace and accordingly proposed amendments to the law.

Workshops on Digital Rights Awareness Held in 3 Districts by DRF

DRF conducted 6 one-day workshops in partnership with Simorgh between March 16 to 25, 2022 in three districts of Punjab (Lahore, Kasur and Toba Tek Singh). The workshops by DRF focused on issues of online safety and digital rights awareness for communities.

Press and Media Coverage

katalystlabspk

@LabsKatalyst

• 1 Mar

#KatalysingKween @nighatdad is a force to reckon with! She is a lawyer and founder of @DigitalRightsPK focused on making the internet a safe space for everyone, especially women in Pakistan & South Asia

We invite you to our first discussion in three-part webinar series titled "Access to Justice: Obstacles & the way forward”

Topic: No honor in killing - The law & its implication (Review of Criminal Law Amendments 2016 - Mar 2, 2022 06:00 PM

Covid-19 Updates

Cyber Harassment Helpline receives 151 complaints in February

In February, the Cyber Harassment Helpline received a total 151 complaints.  Majority of these complaints were received through the medium of calls received on our Helpline number.  Types of cases reported were mainly linked to cyber harassment. However, cases of domestic violence, general inquiry and financial fraud were also recorded.

The Cyber Harassment Helpline receives calls from individuals belonging to a range of professions, including journalism, civil society and media personnel. Cyber Harassment can happen to anyone, regardless of their profession or status in society.

Policy Initiatives

Ab Aur Nahi - Pro Bono Lawyer Network

In light of increased cases of domestic violence against women and young girls, DRF decided to relaunch the ‘Ab aur Nahin’ initiative. This initiative has been developed by the legal team and is an attempt to create an expansive and supportive community of capable lawyers. These lawyers will offer their services for free to women and children who have undergone abuse and do not have the means to fund their legal expenses.

These services will hence constitute pro bono legal services. The aim is to bring together like minded individuals to support those in need.

To become a part of this initiative to help women and gender minorities, sign up here: https://t.co/s66fm56vyd

Digital Engagement and Experiences of Pakistani Youth Survey:

A survey on the Digital experiences and engagement of young Pakistanis was circulated in February. This survey and study is being conducted to look at patterns of the youth with regard to their usage of social media and the role it plays in their day to day lives.

We would love your input! This survey will only take a few minutes, we would really appreciate it if you could spare the time and fill it out! Find the survey here!:https://forms.gle/rQZ7JXYexpuzeSxP7…

Trainings and Workshops

Safe and Democratic Online Spaces in Pakistan - Session

DRF conducted the Safe and Democratic Online Spaces in Pakistan session with human rights defenders. This session was hosted online on Zoom and was based  on online safety and the  digital landscape. The session was held on the 16th and 17th of February, 2021. The session was attended by 18 participants.

Campaigns

The Cyber Harassment Helpline January 2022 Activity

The start of 2022 has been a demanding and busy time for the Helpline, with 242 new complaints registered. 181 of these complaints were calls made to our Helpline.

Once more, we predominantly received complaints made by women (161) who were cyber harassment, blackmailing and unsolicited contact.

We also directly help human rights defenders such as journalists, lawyers and activists, who are susceptible to online hate speech and bullying

Do not hesitate to reach out to us if you or anyone you know is experiencing cyber harassment or hate speech online.

Media and Press Coverage:

Nighat Dad speaks at Information and Democracy Forum Panel

Nighat Dad spoke at the panel based on information and the need for a proactive democratic governance system in the Digital space. She is the vice-chair of @Forum_InfoD,  and joined remotely to talk about our efforts to establish an International Observatory on information and democracy.

#MediaFreedomConference #MediaFreedom

Nighat Dad speaks on Hate Speech and Challenges to Governance at

Nighat Dad joined a group of panelists as a member of the Oversight Board. She joined in for an online public plenary at #IMCKUGU and spoke about hate speech and the challenges to governance as a consequence.

This online panel was held on February 15th, 2022 at 14:00 PKT.

Nighat shared some insights on how the Oversight Board is trying to balance the interests of users and communities around the world.

You can watch the full session at https://bit.ly/3LO4gig

Nighat Dad speaks at Panel, “Cybercrime: A Digital Threat”

Our Executive  Director Nighat Dad spoke at the panel “Cybercrime: A Digital Threat” this Monday & discussed various threats such as stalking, stealing of identities & selling of personal data which are quickly becoming global threats to online communities.

Watch here: https://tinyurl.com/mjk6x3c

Covid-19 Updates

Cyber Harassment Helpline Officers take the first Thursday of every month for self-care!

The Cyber Harassment Helpline will not be available on Thursday, 3rd February on account of being a self-care day for Helpline Officers. This gives them time to unwind and return to their posts rejuvenated! You can always reach out to us on our socials in case you need to!