TEDGlobal 2017
Nighat Dad: How Pakistani women are taking the internet back
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TED Fellow Nighat Dad studies online harassment, especially as it relates to patriarchal cultures like the one in her small village in Pakistan. She tells the story of how she set up Pakistan's first cyber harassment helpline, offering support to women who face serious threats online. "Safe access to the internet is access to knowledge, and knowledge is freedom," she says. "When I fight for a woman's digital rights, I am fighting for equality."
Nighat Dad - Lawyer, human rights activist
TED Fellow Nighat Dad heads the Digital Rights Foundation, Pakistan -- a researched based advocacy not-for-profit geared towards ICT to support human rights, democratic processes, and digital governance. Full bio
TED Fellow Nighat Dad heads the Digital Rights Foundation, Pakistan -- a researched based advocacy not-for-profit geared towards ICT to support human rights, democratic processes, and digital governance. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
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Imagine waking up to a stranger --
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sometimes multiple strangers --
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questioning your right to existence
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for something that you wrote online,
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waking up to an angry message,
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scared and worried for your safety.
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Welcome to the world of cyberharassment.
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The kind of harassment that women
face in Pakistan is very serious
face in Pakistan is very serious
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and leads to sometimes deadly outcomes.
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This kind of harassment keeps women
from accessing the internet --
from accessing the internet --
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essentially, knowledge.
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It's a form of oppression.
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Pakistan is the sixth most populous
country in the world,
country in the world,
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with 140 million people having access
to mobile technologies,
to mobile technologies,
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and 15 percent internet penetration.
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And this number doesn't seem to go down
with the rise of new technologies.
with the rise of new technologies.
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Pakistan is also the birthplace
of the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner,
of the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner,
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Malala Yousafzai.
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But that's just one aspect of Pakistan.
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Another aspect is where
the twisted concept of honor
the twisted concept of honor
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is linked to women and their bodies;
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where men are allowed to disrespect women
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and even kill them sometimes
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in the name of so-called "family honor";
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where women are left to die
right outside their houses
right outside their houses
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for speaking to a man on a mobile phone,
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in the name of "family honor."
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Let me say this very clearly:
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it's not honor;
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it's a cold-blooded murder.
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I come from a very small village
in Punjab, Pakistan,
in Punjab, Pakistan,
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where women are not allowed
to pursue their higher education.
to pursue their higher education.
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The elders of my extended family
didn't allow their women
didn't allow their women
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to pursue their higher education
or their professional careers.
or their professional careers.
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However, unlike the other
male guardians of my family,
male guardians of my family,
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my father was one who really
supported my ambitions.
supported my ambitions.
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To get my law degree,
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of course, it was really difficult,
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and [there were] frowns of disapproval.
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But in the end, I knew
it's either me or them,
it's either me or them,
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and I chose myself.
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(Applause)
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My family's traditions
and expectations for a woman
and expectations for a woman
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wouldn't allow me to own a mobile
phone until I was married.
phone until I was married.
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And even when I was married,
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this tool became a tool
for my own surveillance.
for my own surveillance.
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When I resisted this idea
of being surveilled by my ex-husband,
of being surveilled by my ex-husband,
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he really didn't approve of this
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and threw me out of his house,
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along with my six-month-old
son, Abdullah.
son, Abdullah.
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And that was the time
when I first asked myself, "Why?
when I first asked myself, "Why?
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Why are women not allowed
to enjoy the same equal rights
to enjoy the same equal rights
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enshrined in our Constitution?
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While the law states that a woman
has the same equal access
has the same equal access
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to the information,
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why is it always men -- brothers,
fathers and husbands --
fathers and husbands --
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who are granting these rights to us,
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effectively making the law irrelevant?"
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So I decided to take a step,
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instead of keep questioning
these patriarchal structures
these patriarchal structures
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and societal norms.
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And I founded the Digital Rights
Foundation in 2012
Foundation in 2012
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to address all the issues
and women's experiences in online spaces
and women's experiences in online spaces
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and cyberharassment.
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From lobbying for free and safe internet
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to convincing young women
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that access to the safe internet
is their fundamental, basic, human right,
is their fundamental, basic, human right,
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I'm trying to play my part
in igniting the spark
in igniting the spark
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to address the questions
that have bothered me all these years.
that have bothered me all these years.
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With a hope in my heart,
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and to offer a solution to this menace,
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I started Pakistan's and the region's
first cyberharassment help line
first cyberharassment help line
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in December 2016 --
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(Applause)
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to extend my support to the women
who do not know who to turn to
who do not know who to turn to
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when they face serious threats online.
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I think of the women who do not have
the necessary support
the necessary support
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to deal with the mental trauma
when they feel unsafe in online spaces,
when they feel unsafe in online spaces,
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and they go about their daily activities,
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thinking that there is
a rape threat in their in-box.
a rape threat in their in-box.
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Safe access to the internet
is an access to knowledge,
is an access to knowledge,
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and knowledge is freedom.
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When I fight for women's digital rights,
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I'm fighting for equality.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Nighat Dad - Lawyer, human rights activistTED Fellow Nighat Dad heads the Digital Rights Foundation, Pakistan -- a researched based advocacy not-for-profit geared towards ICT to support human rights, democratic processes, and digital governance.
Why you should listen
Nighat Dad is an accomplished lawyer and a human rights activist. She is one of the pioneers who have been campaigning around access to open internet in Pakistan and globally. She is the only Pakistani fellow for Young Global Leaders 2018 supported by World Economic Forum and TEDGlobal Fellows for 2017. She has been listed as a Next Generation Leader by TIME and is the recipient of Atlantic Council Freedom Award and Human Rights Tulip Award.
Dad has been fighting against online gender-based violence, making the internet safe and inclusive for everyone to use. She's been referred to as the "Pakistani lawyer trolling the trolls" by BBC for her valor in calling out the harassers online. She has been actively advocating for increased participation of women in public spaces through national and international platforms. She tweets at @nighatdad.
Nighat Dad | Speaker | TED.com