The advent of the internet or better to say the cyberspace has brought about a great change in the world. After the fall of the Taliban regime, international news channels covered the domestic and political violence against women in Afghanistan.
Chapter Two
Internet, Cyberspace and Cyberfeminism with Focus on Afghanistan
Introduction
Background
According to Oxford dictionary, cyber is defined as features of the culture of computers, information technology and virtual reality. The modern study of cybernetics began around the time of World War II, bringing together developments in a number of disciplines.
Cyberspace: Definitions and Perspectives
In the 1990s, the Labor Party faced challenges not from other parties, but from new populist forces on the left and right. The traditional sociological concept of space has been associated with borders and fixation, but the fact that new information and communication technologies transcend borders has caused a crisis of the concept of space as understood in sociology.
Cyberspace: The Scope
Apart from the question of how the user can actually move in cyberspace - by flying or surfing, or by jumping, sliding, sliding or strolling - according to Michael Benedikt, there are some interesting ideas in the Transit Principle, which he defines as: "travelling between two points in cyberspace should proceed phenomenally through all intermediate points, no matter how fast, and should incur costs to the traveler proportional to some measure of distance". He suggests a limit of two or three "clones" of himself being present in cyberspace at any one time (Castells & Haraway 2007: 39).
Cyberspace, Politic and Conflict
In addition to the possibilities for creating networks of communities or virtual communities of various kinds, cyberspace represents a technology that covers many domains such as economic, communicative, cultural, entertainment, politics, etc. merge in such a way that these functions cannot merge. be disaggregated. This aggregation of functions is one of the unique features of the Internet and cyberspace-specific social consequences.
Cyberspace and the Virtual Space
Such a deconstruction of the relationship with the world is not without relevant consequences for the relationship between the citizens themselves (Virilio 1995:2). Lines of light in the non-space of the mind as clusters and constellations of data and city lights giving way to 'virtual geography'.
Cyberspace and Technology
This extends to the material objects used to support this infrastructure such as machines for production, consumption and movements which are now rapidly becoming a mixture of the digital and the analogue (Batty 1997: 337). The idea of mobile social networks and the use of mobile phones as collective communication devices has been observed in countries such as Japan, the Philippines, Finland and China (Rheingold 2000: 20).
Cyberspace: The Dark Side
Hacktivists such as The Mixter, from Germany who wrote the program ‗Tribe Flood‘ that shut down the websites for the ‗World Economic Forum‘ in January 2002, regularly use their hacking skills to cause disruption of government and corporate presence online. Citizen Lab and its partners have discovered over the years that many of the countries that censor the Internet rely on products and services developed by Western manufacturers; 'Smart Filter' in Iran in 2005, 'Fortinet' in Burma in 2006,.
Cyberspace, Internet and Network .1 Search Engine
- Website
- Ebook
These links are typically separated by the blog's topic or subtopic and written in reverse chronological order, meaning that the most recent links are displayed at the top of the blog's home page. E-mail, short for 'electronic mail' is one of the most widely used features of cyberspace, along with the web.
Women’s Networking and Access to Information
Although the Internet began as a tool of the powerful, as Bahdi argues, the marginalized are now harnessing the technology to advance diverse causes. There are still some formidable obstacles to overcome in increasing women's use of the Internet and ensuring their full participation in the Information Society.
Constraints and Opportunities
- Lack of Confidence
- Potential of the Internet for Women
- Cyberfeminism in Afghanistan
Women and feminists have not been slow to recognize the potential power of the Internet for information dissemination, gathering and sharing and for connecting with like-minded people in the pursuit of common goals. Although there are concerns about commercialism, explicit, misogynistic content and the power of the internet to homogenize, on balance it is probably more dangerous for women to be completely excluded than to try to work within a male-dominated electronic environment ( Goulding & Spacy 2007) : 1).
Cyberspace, Internet and Telecommunication in Afghanistan
Afghanistan is one of the least developed countries mainly due to decades of war and lack of foreign investment. It is predicted that over 50% of the population will have access to the Internet by 2015 (mcit.gov.af).
Creation of Afghan Telecom
National Telecommunications Policy Principles and Goals
Quickly restore the production capacity of the existing public network with expanded and improved systems in the primary and secondary cities. Due to the ever-changing nature of the telecommunications sector and its importance to the country's development and reconstruction goals, the MoC will.
Role of the Government
Sites of resistance: Alternative websites and state-society relations.‖ British Journal of Sociology, Vol.53, Issue 1.March 2002. Houdart-Blazy, Véronique, ―European Commission, Age becomes her: older women in the European Union.‖ Information for Women, Directorate General X, Information, Communication, Culture and Audiovisual Media, 1997.
Chapter Three
Social History and status of Women in Afghanistan
Introduction
The USSR in the north and the state of Pakistan in the southeast at the beginning of the Cold War situation. Pashtuns today constitute an ethnic group of Afghanistan and are about 40% of the Afghan population.
Mujahidin Period
The Rise of the Taliban
This is one of the most important and terrible incidents in the fight against the Taliban. This was one of the likely hideouts for Osama bin London and Al Qaeda.
Situation of Women in Afghanistan
- Women in Villages
Studies conducted by the United Nations Development Program reveal that Afghanistan is one of the most extreme cases of gender inequality in the world. As for women in the villages, who make up the bulk of the population in Afghanistan, most of their moments are socially conditioned.
The Modern Era and Afghan Women
There are some public places that only women can enter, such as women's gardens and shrines where women gather and pray. Tribal power games, honor institutions and intertribal displays of patriarchal control have endangered women's position.
The Social Role of Women: Islamic Feminism
Another problem that Piela has joined is that there is room for the emancipation and struggle of Muslim women by collaborating with other feminists. In this situation, it can also be seen that Egypt is a special example due to the presence of Coptic Christians who make up about 10%.
The General Status of Women
Therefore, the percentage of women with a higher level of education in the country has remained insignificant (unicef.org). Women account for 10% of the total workforce in the industrial sector, equivalent to 200,000, and approximately 15 million women also work in the business sector.
Afghanistan a Patriarchal Society .1 Greeting
- Clothing
- Marriage
- Divorce
In the villages, marriages are performed at the homes of the groom and also the bride marks a clear gender divide where men and women are both entertained separately. One of the most important points of this is that a community of women is also suddenly formed which lasts temporarily during the henna ceremony.
Women’s Right Due to Islamic Teaching
Some traditional practices that also empowered women and gave them space, which were part of the rituals, have also been pushed into the background or completely removed. Islam forbids femicide, which was often practiced in pre-Islamic Arabia and other parts of the world.
Equality of Right and Inequality
One of the immediate consequences of this is a rapid shrinkage of gendered spaces in the public sphere (Lough & others 2012: 2). In Afghanistan, the household is largely managed by women, while the men are also responsible for the work outside the home and in the domestic sphere, it is the women who are practically the head of the family, but not the matriarch.
Violence against Women
- Sexual Violence
- Verbal and Psychological Violence
- Economic Violence
- Other Instances of Violence
- Perpetrators and Place of Violence
Therefore, sexual violence is not only about sex, but about power and honor united in a person's body. This includes not only physical violence, but also other forms of psychological and mental violence, which have caused a lot of harm to the women themselves. The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) reported 808 cases in 2012 (see Appendix, Table 4, page no. 263).
Education
- Educational Barriers for Women
Access to education further weakened from 1994 due to the Taliban's draconian policies on girls' education and female employment. The resulting proportional increase in girls' schools during the 1990s was also partly due to the reduction in the number of boys' schools (World Bank Report 2005: 37).
Women’s Employment and Salary
National Reconstruction and Poverty Alleviation, "Women's Role in Afghanistan's Future." United Nations Development Program (UNDP), March 2005. National Reconstruction and Poverty Reduction - The Role of Women in Afghanistan's Future, March 2005 "Afghanistan Gender Report".
Chapter Four
Media and Women Development in Afghanistan
Introduction
In developing countries such as Afghanistan, media evolution and media practitioners helped women find a platform to express their ideas and participate in the development of their country. It is generally agreed that the evolution of the media is leading to a movement of dissemination of concerns about women.
Media Transition: Definition and Insights
To describe the exact definition of media transition in Afghanistan, we need to study the actual situation and requirement in this nation. Following only theories will not have the best outcome in Afghanistan as this country is still in the development phase and the media has recently started participating in this transition and it takes time to be in the best shape.
The Social Media: Space and Privacy for Afghan Women
Because of the presence of Afghan women's media, Afghan women working in the media are expected to represent women through the eyes of Afghan women themselves (Flanders 2004:2). Radio Zohrah was the first local audio media to start operating after the fall of the Taliban in Kabul province.
Reconstruction Media in Afghanistan and Women’s Share
This programmatic emphasis on radio broadcasting by the US continued, with the funds initially spent on training and programming and later on providing a network of commercial radio stations. New television broadcasting equipment was provided by the Japanese government, while funds to start up a private television station were provided by the US government.
The Freedom of the Media: Politic and Women
However, “the liberal political philosophy to which Siebert refers seems to be the main theoretical and legal basis for freedom of the press. John Stuart Mill, freedom of the press is also included among these rights” (Siebert . & others 1956: 87).
The Effect of Media Transition on Afghan Women
Viewership, expressed as readership, viewership, or listenership, is another important quantitative indicator in the press freedom paradigm (lib.utexas.edu). That is, regardless of individual characteristics, what politicians want is evidence in the form of quantitative audience analyzes and the significant number of audiences for one or a combination of the media.
Development in the Media and Journalism
Credit for the sudden rise of social media in the country can also be given to the cheap and widely available Chinese-made smartphones. The World Bank reports that there has been a tremendous increase in the numbers of women accessing formal education.
The Social Media and Empowering Afghan Women: Facebook Effect
Inequality and violence against women have been a major and ongoing issue discussed in the editorials of the magazines studied in this research (independent.co.uk). I would say for a month, every day you would see everyone posting about Farkhunda‖ (independent.co.uk).
The Media: Identity of Afghan Women
White women wore the mantle of virtue and goodness, whereas Native women were variously categorized as “Drudge, the Fury, and the Witch” (Sundquist 13). How social media is empowering young Afghan women: The Facebook effect.‖ The Independent, London, England 11 July 2015, www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/how-social-media- is- empowering-young-afghan-women-the-facebook-effect-10375022.html [Accessed on.
Chapter Five
Blogging and women in Afghanistan
Introduction
An Introduction to Blogging
In the days before blogging, most of the content in cyberspace was one-sided, where a few would share and comment, and others would simply be the listener. Or a server like blogfa in the year 2015 wiped out many of its blogs due to certain issues and problems, but they continue to show the registered number of 50,000 blogs on their website (digiato.com).
Requirements for Blogging
But the opportunity to train in the field of technology for women is not equal to men. One of the successes in women's access to the internet is the opening of an internet cafe for women in 2012 in Kabul.
The Role of Blogging in Changing the Quality of Women’s Life
Many of the women started writing that they have no knowledge and information about blogs. According to Habermas, the media plays the most important role in the atmosphere of the public.
The Use of Cyberspace for Women’s Movement
- Achievements of Women Blogger
- National and International Organizations for Support Afghan Blogger .1 Afghan Cultural House (ACH)
The center of the blogging community in Afghanistan, founded in Kabul with the help of Afghan bloggers, lives inside and outside the country. The Bloggers' Association specifically supports female bloggers and the content of their blogs.
Pseudonym and Creating New Identities
- Reasons for Pseudonym
Since in the absence of physical presence, the pseudonym begins, it can show the real image of the Afghanistan society in the complex state of the country. The extent of this freedom in cyberspace therefore depends heavily on the reality of society and its atmosphere.
Writing in the Service of Democracy
In the virtual world what is important is how consistent and stable the identity is. This democratization of a personal life and relevant emotions of women in the virtual environment of Afghanistan is in fact considered a violation of traditions.
Movements Based on Blogging
Also, the repeated harassment of women and children would put the perpetrator in prison for three to six months. This caused serious mental and physical damage to women and children and reduced their participation in society.
Chapter Six
Analysis of Women‘s Issues Raised in the Blogs
Introduction
Soon after the incident, public reaction in Afghanistan turned to shock and anger. Civil activists and citizens of most cities in Afghanistan also gathered in protest.
Issues: Forced Marriage and Domestic Violence
In Shiddokht's blog, Munera who is a blog writer criticizes the long history of ignorance and domestic violence against women taking a sociological perspective on Afghan society. In the society where beating a wife by her husband is his right and before marriage the family suggests it.
Issues: Mutilation and Ba’ad
Don't pretend to be asleep if you hear the screams of the women in your neighborhood. Observing the statistics based on the 'Independent Human Rights Commission of Afghanistan' has shown that the number of Ba'ad girls has decreased in the year 2014.
Issues: Rape and Honor Killing
The description of the details of the murder is more like a movie script and may come from the imagination of his reporter. Honor killing is known as violence against women and often killing of women by men of the same family (father, brother, uncle, etc.).
