We cannot deny that feminists are talking about the new wave of feminism for the women’s right; the fourth-wave feminism. Fourth-wave feminism is a phase of feminism that began around 2013 and is characterized by a focus on the empowerment of women and the use of internet tools. The first and second waves of feminism fought for and earned women greater liberation, individualism, and social mobility, and the fourth wave takes the agenda of third-wave feminism that centers on the problematic gendered norms that cause the oppression and marginalization of women in society.But females are dominated in the new way of digital harassment both physically and through the internet.
The world is burning with the flame of COVID-19 and almost all people are facing its deadly results. People have to fight against the pandemic as well as hunger and poverty. They are out of work, are at their home, and using their digital gadgets and the internet more than usual.Both males and females, young and old are getting entertained and perhaps addicted to social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Skype, YouTube, Viber, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and so on. Using social media excessively is the misuse of it. Women are bearing domestic violence and are the victim of domination in every corner of their houses and outdoors. The misuse of social media has been challenging the concept of fourth-wave feminism which acceptsthe views of the emancipation of women and girls through internet tools and threatening the existence of being a female.
Facebook has become a very popular social media in Nepal nowadays. People can express their ideas, views, experiences easily on Facebook. They can like, comment, react, tag, and reply over their Facebook friends’ statuses. They can share the status in their walls too. It has been a platform to advertise the new product, share short videos, stories, and many more. It is very easy to create a Facebook account using a mobile number. But misusing Facebook has damaged the lives of many families. It leads the husband-wife relation to divorce pushing their innocent children alone. In many cases, it has invited suicide of innocent girls and women too.
Living the life of a woman is not easy in our globe. It is even more challenging in the patriarchal society and culture where the birth of a son is taken as great importance and the blessing of the god which continues their lineage, keeps prestige in the society and supports till the last breath of their life. The birth of a daughter is taken as a curse still in our families and societies. Women are capable as men and they are running their houses and business. We can see that wives earn more than their husbands in their job too. In contrast, women and girls are easily deceived. They are taken as the means of entertainment and the source of romance. We can imagine: what will the universe in the absence of females !
At Facebook, we believe that women should have equal access to all of the economic opportunities, education, and social connection the internet provides. The world is out there and it’s a civil right and liberties issue to be able to access loved ones any time, access information, access job searches.
Sexual harassment is a critical part of using Facebook. For example, harassers will commonly try to humiliate a woman by sharing images of her that would be considered shameful in her community. A woman could be shamed or put at risk if someone shared a photo of her drinking tea at a café or riding on a bike with a man who isn’t a family member. In Nepal, a harasser might select a nude photo or a video of the woman engaging in sexual activity. In some families, women are threatened to stay offline by their father, brothers, husband, and boyfriend. Some women in the country choose not to share profile pictures that include their faces because they’re concerned that someone might try to take those photos and impersonate them in ways that would shame or dishonor them or their families.
The police say increased internet access has led to a greater misuse of social networking sites, resulting in cybercrimes directed towards women. Police investigations have found women are often blackmailed by their former partners, especially when couples in relationships share their passwords. This blackmail is mostly done by photoshopping women’s images. Some men also tend to misuse women’s pictures to create new accounts to trick other men.They can also use photo-matching technology, images from being posted to Facebook, and Instagram.An ex might share non-consensual intimate images in a private group, for example. Or a bully might set up a fake account in a woman’s name and operate it without her knowledge, adding members of her community as friends.
Online gender-based violence is not a technology problembut a societal problem. Facebook has provided a great opportunity to access the world in just a click as well as it has provided some safety measures to be away from the smugglers. There are several tools to help people control their experience on Facebook, such as ignoring unwanted messages and blocking other people without them being notified.Facebook terms and policy has developed different pilot program but it only works if the potential victim is aware that their images are at risk of being shared. It is aware of women’s safety as well as other topics such as suicide prevention and raising children in the digital era.
A well-paid woman gets a new friend request on her Facebook from her ex-client. She accepts it. The conversation starts with hi hello. They continue talking. The person demands more; i.e. her selfie, asks for a meeting, going to the date, and so on. She cannot believe all this but continues talking. Finally, she comes to know that somebody else is blackmailing her with the fake ID of her innocent client. She cannot go to sue him in cyber crime because she knows the result might ruin her prestige and the family reputation.
In another case, a schoolgirl is deceived by her teacher. The teacher buys her a new phone and says to her he will guide in her studies with the help of a mobile phone through Facebook. Gradually, the conversation goes out of limitation and he starts sexual exploitation. She is asked to meet him at the time of the night. She becomes helpless. And this continues more than 3 years.
These are just examples. There are many more stories and incidents in this global village. As people get closer with the globalization, they become to be introduced with many people. The modality of exploitation has been changed. Females have been dominated in every step. We argue globalization has created new more opportunities for violence from men to women. Men in rich areas of the world have responded to the growing riskiness of violence against women at home by ”exporting” some of the costs of these crimes on to those who are especially vulnerable to entrapment, abuse, and enslavement. Poor, third world, and migrant women and children.
In this digital era, social media has become a part of the life of people. We cannot think of our life without mobile phones. But we are reluctant to think about the results of misusing mobile phones. Sometimes, men forget that the women are living their lives of the mee-too era. They can destroy the men’s life with just the two lines of Facebook status in their Facebook walls.
By : Rupse Dailly 2020-06-19
