PESHAWAR
In connection with International Women’s Day, Aawaz II, a non-profit organization, in collaboration with the KP Commission on the Status of Women, the Ombudsperson KP for Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace and the KP Child Protection & Welfare Commission organized a provincial consultation on Digital Safety for Women & Children in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The event brought together more than 😯 social activists from Swabi, Haripur, Swat, Battagram, Mansehra, Mardan, Charsadda, Kohat and Peshawar.
Senior representatives of Social Welfare and Women Empowerment Department, Network Security FIA, the KP Child Protection & Welfare Commission and the KP Ombudsperson for Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace and representatives of CSOs including PWDs, TGPs and religious minorities attended the event.
This consultation aimed to promote safer online spaces for women and children by increasing awareness of online gender-based violence (GBV), including its types and trends.
The event facilitated discussions on responding to and reporting online GBV, raising awareness about government regulations and protection mechanisms, and exploring the role of Aawaz II community structures and activists in preventing online GBV.
Ms Rashida Dohad of Omar Asghar Khan Foundation stated that Aawaz II strives to tackle discriminatory gender norms in Punjab and KP.
Ms Dohad also highlighted the significance of the event, which is linked to International Women’s Day, 8 March 2023 (IWD 2023), and its theme of “DigitAll: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality.”
Ms Rukhshanda Naz, Ombudsperson KP for Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace emphasized the need for cost effective technology including mobile devices to enable women to file cases online while staying at home.
The use of technology has provided women with means to report relevant issues to the Ombudsperson through their cell phones without fear.
However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been observed that women’s phone numbers were stolen from databases, resulting in online harassment. To address this issue, inquiry committees have been established in both mandatory and non-mandatory institutions.
Ijaz Khan, Deputy Chief, KP Child Protection and Welfare Commission stressed on the importance of using mobile devices while keeping safety measures in mind.
He further suggested organising awareness-raising sessions to address online harassment.
Ms Amna Durani, Director programmes, KPCSW highlighted that information accessed through internet or phone is known as digital inclusion.
Muhammad Akram Mughal, Deputy Director FIA Network security KP stated in his presentation that “if a person gets harassed by someone, they can register an application.
Overall, there are 15 FIA stations in the country and three stations in KP, one in Peshawar, Dera Ismail Khan and Abbottabad.
159,187 complaints received by the Cyber Crime Wing from the entire country in which 1600 applications were addressed and resolved the cases this year.
Ms Robina Haider, Secretary, KP Commission on the Status of Women, said in her concluding remarks that our women are keen to use the mobile but facing harassment.
