This was written a while back, just did not put it up on blog. So the 'recent' incidents may not seem so recent.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
The recent spate of attacks
on Meena Kandasamy in the cyber space has indeed raised many questions. The
issue of how women who speak their mind on the internet were trolled and
subjected to harassment was highlighted to some level along with the
degeneration of ethics and an irresponsible attitude. But what has not been
talked of is the cyber equivalent of sexual harassment that these women face
every day and the measures which ought to be taken to curb such sociopathic
moral policing on women.
Consider the case of Akhila
Henry. She posted a sarcastic status about a well known Malayalam actor in her
Facebook Timeline. What followed was an onslaught of tirades against her with
hordes of men visiting her profile and using derogatory language. When she
contacted the police, the response was that such treatment was meted out every day
over the internet and nothing could be done about it. Like Akhila, there are
hundreds or thousands of women in Indian cyber space who have found new
frontiers of self-expression and empowerment, who have to encounter the daunting
challenges of cyber bullying, stalking, trolling and cyber sexual harassment.
Moreover, such harassment is clear violation of Articles 19 and 21 of the
Indian Constitution. It is in this context that we need an evaluation of the
current cyber laws in place. The only section which even remotely deals with
the concerned section is Section 66A of the IT Amendment Act 2008, which
concerns with Punishment for sending offensive messages through
communication service, etc and
states that, ‘Any person who sends, by means of a computer
resource or a communication device,- a) any information that is grossly
offensive or has menacing character; or b) any information which he knows to be
false, but for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction,
insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred, or ill will,
persistently makes by making use of such computer resource or a communication
device, c) any electronic mail or electronic mail message for the purpose of
causing annoyance or inconvenience or to deceive or to mislead the addressee or
recipient about the origin of such messages shall be punishable with
imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and with fine.’
But on a second reading, it
becomes clear that there exists no standard definition for ‘grossly offensive’
or ‘menacing character’. This can be examined through the recent complaint that
Sajitha Madathil lodged with the Hi-tech Crime Enquiry Cell of Kerala Police
against cyber stalkers who apparently spread vitriol against her on Facebook
and elsewhere. Since the concerned terms are fussy in nature, as to what
constitutes such vitriol becomes highly subjective and skewed. Those who have
criticized her justly and in a civilized yet firm manner might also end up being
clubbed with the stalkers.
On the other hand, the real
issue of cyber sexual harassment goes unnoticed in the existing paraphernalia
of vague terminology. What Sajitha Madathil might have and Meena Kandasamy to a
much greater level did experience is traumatic to varying degrees. No woman
wants to be subjected to threats, abuse and innuendos in real life. Why should
cyber space be any different? That is precisely why we need the IT Amendment
Act to include sexual harassment online too. A number of women bloggers I
talked to, stressed the extra amount of time and energy they spent on weeding
out trolls on their comments and getting accustomed to differences of opinion
being expressed in sexually explicit language. Women bloggers and writers who
speak their mind on cyber space cannot survive unless they numb themselves to
the constant onslaught of such nastiness. The average Indian chauvinist makes
sure that the apparent anonymity of the internet is used to spew verbal hatred
and incite misogyny in ways he would never do in real life.
Indian cyber space is rapidly
expanding its dimensions to gender inclusiveness, since more and more women are
becoming financially independent enough to own their own PCs and laptops. The
recent surge in smart phone use has also contributed to the ease of access to
both men and women, making sure their friends, knowledge and cyber activism are
in the palm of their hands. The younger generation is one which is being
trained to ask questions, speak out and stand firm. The young women have an
edge over the older generations in this aspect, since they have an audience for
their thoughts which is constantly making them evolve. This evolution is real
in every sense and tantamount to empowerment. When one read about or saw Thasni
Banu on TV, it might not have occurred to the older generation to get to know
her personally. But by one click on our computers, we can include her in the
circle of our acquaintances, hence assuring we are being surrounded by
likeminded people. This translates into action in real life as well. Solidarity
is formed, knowing that you aren’t alone. It is this solidarity and empowerment
that trolls, stalkers and sexual harassers try to suppress. They have their own
networks, ensuring that even if we complain, report or block a particular person,
scores of others, who are waiting for his word will come rolling down, crashing
our virtual gates open. It is upsetting for an ordinary person to tolerate such
unsavory characters and at times even veterans who are seasoned in the art of
ignoring them can become upset over call to rape and sexually explicit
descriptions in threats.
There needs to arise a
systematic line of measures taken to ensure the continued freedom of speech of
women over the internet. One major task is generating internet ethics. Someone
who has a personal moral compass rather than the ones infused by socio-cultural
precedents will never indulge in such verbal sexual harassment online and
setting a sociopathic preliminary to carry out misogynistic activities offline.
This can only be done by spreading awareness and enforcing legal aspects, so
that in the long run, such a personal moral compass becomes functionally
autonomous and ingrained in the person. For that, we need separate cyber sexual
harassment laws which are specific and in par with real life sexual harassment
laws. Threats of gang rape and genital mutilation are not in the same boat as
calling woman sexually derogatory names. Nor is a onetime anonymous blog
comment synonymous with continued trolling. There should be a gradation in the
specification of the crime and punishment given, with the complexities of our
social setting taken into account. For example, Meena Kandasamy was targeted
also because she is a Dalit activist, making it a multidimensional issue which
needs a multipronged legal solution. Immediate action and necessary follow up
by the police will help drive the point home that sexual harassment is not
acceptable anywhere, in any form.
In future, the importance of cyber space will
become almost equal to the home, the office and public places, all where we
have laws to safeguard women. It is emerging to be the need of the times, so
that women can speak their mind, share thoughts and ideas, empower themselves
and through that contribute to the progress of the nation. Women should also
not be cowed down by these threats and attacks on their freedom and stop
expressing themselves. After all, as Audre Lorde rightly said, “When we speak
we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we
are still afraid. So it is better to speak.” So let us keep speaking.
