"Currently, research on older Chinese rural women’s reading activities through social media is scarce. This paper, based on a 2015 ethnographic study in the south-central Chinese city of Changsha, responds to this disparity. It highlights some of the reading choices and sources shared by a group o
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f rural women (over 40 years of age) through the most popular Chinese social media platform WeChat. The discussion emphasizes that in particular women in this rural community advertising revenue mechanisms of WeChat’s official account platform. A significant finding is that Changsha’s rural women endorsed articles that appeared to reflect their off-line realities and aligned with their emotional states. Uncertainty about information accuracy was affected by their educational backgrounds, literacy levels, life experiences, and moreover, by underlying Chinese social conditions and cultural expectations, which together, meant they sometimes recirculated fake, sexual, misleading and poor-quality information." (Abstract)
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"Pretty Liar" explores the rise of language and gender politics on Lebanese television to tell the untold story of the co-evolution of Lebanese television and its audiences and how the civil war of 1975-1991 affected that co-evolution. The shift in public interest in television has been widely ackno
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wledged and interpreted within an institutional context as a victory of the neo-liberal entrepreneurship of a new, agile brand over the government inefficiency of Lebanon's national station, Télé Liban. Yet, the role of the Lebanese Civil War in reshaping national television and broadcasting in Arab media following the emergence of the Lebanese Broadcasting Company in 1985 has been unexplored. Based on empirical data and grounded in theory by Arab and global researchers, "Pretty Liar" offers textual analyses of five Lebanese fictional series, three major and several additional periodicals, and nine literary works, and provides context from unscripted interviews with television administrators, anchors, actors, and freelance contributors, print journalists, and audience members. Khazaal seeks to offer new insight into how entertainment television became a site for politics and political resistance, feminism, and the cradle for post-war Lebanon due to the shift in practices and standards of legitimacy." (Publisher description)
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"The toolkit encompasses a broad variety of issues, which should be considered by judicial actors in the course of their work to protect human rights. It covers legal standards of freedom of expression according to international and regional instruments and core texts and surveys pertinent jurisprud
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ence on freedom of expression from regional and sub-regional courts or quasi-judicial bodies that deal with human rights issues. The toolkit explicates conditions under which speech can be legitimately restricted, while also giving prominence to the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, the latter representing one of the main obstacles to guaranteeing freedom of expression and freedom of information. Finally, the toolkit also addresses recent challenges to freedom of expression on the internet, including on social media, which have become vital means for sharing information and expressing views. The question of gender representation in media content and careers, and gender-specific threats for women journalists, are also addressed." (Foreword, page 10)
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"Over New Year’s Eve in 2016, a slew of sexual assault cases against women came to light in India’s tech hub of Bengaluru. Four years prior, against the backdrop of a violent rape in the nation’s capital of Delhi, prominent feminists and activists took to the streets as part of mass public pro
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tests calling for legal protections for women in India. The response to the New Year’s Eve allegations, however, differed in two ways. The first was the conspicuous role social media played for the first time in the feminist movement in India. The second was the leadership provided by young feminists in the country. A coalition of various feminist organisations and individuals banded together to form a collective under the hashtag #IWillGoOut. This article discusses feminist activism over a period of two weeks at the start of 2017, when the #IWillGoOut collective rapidly mobilised widespread public support calling for the safety of women and minorities in public spaces in India. The campaign organised and led marches and events in over 30 towns and cities of India with no formal fundraising effort. I draw on my personal experience of organising the campaign to share insights into its success in transforming online support to offline action using social media. This experience provides a useful example that can be used in other social justice movements in the Indian subcontinent." (Abstract)
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"Gender-based violence (GBV) continues to be a serious problem in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean region. Jamaicans have increasingly adopted information and communication technologies (ICTs) over the last two decades. In the era of ICTs, new forms of online GBV are evolving, and ICTs also offer a m
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eans of facilitating and escalating offline forms of GBV. Unfortunately, there is very little research in the region to date examining the relationship between GBV and ICTs, apart from anecdotal reports into forms of GBV where ICTs are a factor including stalking, harassment, invasion of privacy, and revenge porn’. This article draws on one of the very few research studies undertaken in Jamaica so far into online abuse and harassment of women, and the role that ICTs play in offline GBV against women in Jamaica. The research suggests that more needs to be done by different actors – including government and civil society – to recognise and respond to GBV and ICTs. esponses should include both specific policy reforms and targeted educational/awareness programmes." (Abstract)
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"Gender-based violence (GBV), a global issue that disproportionately affects women, is especially pervasive in India and reinforced by existing gender norms. Starting late 2012, India experienced increased GBV-related media attention, when a young Delhi woman was fatally gang raped. Public outcry en
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sued through Twitter. Social media platforms, such as Twitter, can erode social boundaries and permit persons to challenge social norms and the status quo. Moreover, Twitter may provide a virtual safe space in which women in India can voice their opinions about GBV and press for social change. This article shares findings from research exploring ways in which men and women used Twitter in the aftermath of the Delhi rape case, focusing on the conversations around GBV that took place, and the opportunities that Twitter offers for more strategic engagement of individuals, especially women, to press for social change." (Abstract)
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"This rapid literature review collates findings from recently published papers on digital development and gender, highlighting some of the most commonly discussed discussions related to economic, social and political development. As the scope of this query is very large, this review provides an illu
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stration of some of the commonly identified issues in the literature. The digital inclusion agenda seeks to close the gaps in access to, and adoption of, fast evolving information and communication technology (ICT) services, particularly mobile phones and the internet. It is an important aspect of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as both an end and a means to the cross-cutting policy aim of ‘leaving no one behind’. The potential gains from digital technologies are high, however they often remain unrealised, especially for women and girls (World Bank, 2016)." (Overview, page 2)
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"The organization has grown since the last evaluation in 2007, with the number of chapters expanding from seven to twelve. The membership comprises 45 other countries, some with the capacity to become chapters. Whether IAWRT is in a phase of expansion or consolidation is unclear, as there is no stra
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tegy in place and opinions in the matter seem to vary within the leadership and membership of the organization. Addressing the issue of possible expansion needs to take into account whether the organization currently has the required capacity and routines to support and follow up new chapters as well as individual members. Besides, there is also confusion when it comes to the actual number of members due to conflicting information. The decision to make a virtual secretariat has saved the organization money, but the survey indicate that this has gone unnoticed by a majority of the membership. Good developments have taken place, but the current ineffective structure of communication remains a challenge that also affects the secretariat’s ability to perform their best." (Executive summary, page 2)
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"Five weeks prior to the 2011 general election in Liberia, women in randomly selected villages were allocated radios and organized into groups to listen regularly to radio programs on the electoral process broadcast by the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). The field experiment was designed
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to ascertain the direct effects of women's access to politically-relevant information through radio broadcasting on their political behaviors and attitudes in a post-war context. Results point to positive significant effects of access to United Nations Mission in Liberia Radio on female political participation both at a national and a local level. Communities that received the intervention also exhibited smaller gender gaps across the majority of outcome indicators. The results suggest that UNMIL Radio effects likely occurred through increased political efficacy of women voters in the lead up to the elections. The study concludes that women's exposure to politically-relevant information through mass-broadcasting, even if brief, can boost their political efficacy and participation in public life." (Abstract)
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"Despite the repressive power of the current regime the immense creativity of popular cultural practices, that negotiate and resist a repressive system, is a potent and dynamic force. This book draws on the expertise and experience of Iranian and international academics and activists to address dive
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rse areas of social and cultural innovation that are driving change and progress. While religious conservatism remains the creed of the establishment, this volume uncovers an underground world of new technology, media and entertainment that speaks to women seeking a greater public role and a restless younger generation that organises and engages with global trends online." (Publisher description)
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"'Half the Sky' is an ambitious humanitarian documentary about the global crises in gender discrimination. Based on Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's book (Kristof and WuDunn 2010), the nearly four-hour documentary visits six countries to explore six issues: gender-based violence in Sierra Leone,
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sex trafficking in Cambodia, education in Vietnam, female genital mutilation in Somaliland, intergenerational prostitution in India, and economic empowerment in Kenya. Heather McIntosh explores the role of celebrity in telling these stories. Six American actresses, each of whom visits a country, meet local activists and survivors, and leam about the situation. Drawing on scholarship about documentary representation and celebrity, McIntosh engages critical perspectives that charge that the appearance of notable personalities simplifies complex issues, and overshadows survivors' voices. She evaluates the success of 'Half the Sky' and the film's attempt to cast celebrities as moral agents helping viewers emotionally connect to the issues and the people involved. Ultimately, she questions the film's ability to overcome the tensions between suffering and poverty, and glamour and Western privilege." (Introduction to part 7, page 380-381)
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