With internet becoming an integral part of our daily lives, more and more users are witnessing or becoming a target of online harassment. From simple name calling to vicious personal attacks and even online stalking has emerged as one of the biggest bane of today’s tech-driven society. The attacks become more malicious if the person on the receiving end happens to be a woman.
Nikhat Dad, a Lawyer is working relentlessly to raise awareness and help support the women fight back with her Digital Rights Foundation. Established in 2012, through her non-profit foundation Dad educates young women in Pakistan about their digital rights and helping them fight back. She is pioneering a campaign to fight against legislation that renders power to state to online surveillance. Even more importantly against telcom companies and other service providers who collect and trade user information for monetary gains.
Voted by Time magazine as the Next Generation Leader in 2015, Nighat conducts workshops and open house congregations across the country to raise awareness and help the victims fight back. “We tell Internet users how to adjust their privacy settings, to make sure they have secure connections, change their passwords regularly and not to share unnecessary information”, she says. “And women should come seek help if they are targeted and not feel ashamed.”
Her foundation in partnership with local and international organizations conducts workshops on media sensitivity, security best practices, and making internet a safer place for women, dissidents, and minorities. Her fight for making internet an open and safe place without state intervention has won her plaudits globally.
Gus Hosein co-founder of London based NGO Privacy International says, “Nighat has established herself as a recognized international leader in such a short period of time. When other partners say they can involve 30 people for a project, Nighat worries about only getting 700. I just love that ambition.”
“She is a symbol of hope for many young women in Pakistan”, says fellow Lahori Mohammed Farooq, a journalist at Dawn, the leading Pakistan Daily Newspaper.
The Noble Peace Prize winning women’s education activist Malala Yusafzai attended some of the workshops conducted by Dad and shares her ambition of empowering women and educating them to stand up for their rights.
Apart from cyber bullying, she also raises important issues like state agencies and government regulating online freedom of speech in the guise of various cyber laws. “Every new law has one or two provisions that are really about regulating Internet space in Pakistan,” says Nighat. “I explain laws in layman’s language to inform people what the government is trying to do.”
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