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Mid-Year Newsletter from us!

Greetings from Body & Data!

Welcome to our newsletter issue for April - June 2022. Over the past few months, our work here at Body & Data has been very engaging, and we would love to share what we're up to. For this instalment, along with our work, we will update you on the ongoing digital rights scenario in Nepal and around the globe, and share new opportunities and upcoming events regarding digital rights.

Our Publications

Annual Media Monitoring Report 2021

With the purpose of observing and analysing the content and credibility of the digital media-related news in the Nepali media, and to document the digital rights issues within Nepal, Body & Data started Media Monitoring in 2021. Through this Annual Media Monitoring Report 2021, we map the overall human rights in the digital sphere by looking at various aspects of digital rights such as freedom of expression, privacy, freedom from violence, access to the internet, etc.

For the year 2021, we analysed the report by looking at 5 main themes- The Effect of Digitization in Nepal, Access to the Internet, Online Privacy, Freedom of Expression in Online Space and Technology/Online-Related Violence.

Read the full report here.

Quarterly Media Monitoring Report on Digital Rights in Nepal (April - June 2022)

Among the key issues that stood out in this quarter of the media monitoring report is the discourse on embossed number plates, Tiktok's community guidelines and how it banned content related to sexual violence, the requirement for compulsory National ID card for E-passport registrations and more

The rise in digitisation initiatives from the government has sparked discourses ranging from mandatory registration of embossed number plates to the requirement of national ID cards for e-passport registrations. Despite the technological efforts, little to no attention has been given to the issue of data privacy and how such developments can be a tool for surveillance against civilians, mostly those who are at the margins. Similarly, rules and regulations on social media and imposing taxes are a way out for the government to stifle freedom of expression online. While stories of online violence took a storm on the internet, there was also news on how individuals sought sexual expression through online spaces by using dating apps.

Read the full analysis of the reports here.

Content from Our Content Creators

Inside the room, the girl is lying flat on the ground. Her face is covered in red. Her mobile phone, which is red in color, sits besides her.

Our objective in producing commissioned content is to hear perspectives, stories and lived realities of the community we work with, especially women, queer individuals and those who are at the margins within the socio-political-cultural structure of Nepal.

For this quarter, we had one translated article from Bibhu where "Nuances of Digital Citizenship Journalism in Nepal" originally written by Barsha Baral was translated into Khas Nepali. The article was posted on World Press Freedom Day, to give importance to citizen journalism at a time when press freedom is stifled. On National Masturbation Day, we had Mahima write "My Curiosity led to Discovery- Discovery of Self- Pleasure" which explores her wholesome journey of navigating the guilt attached to masturbation and finally openly talking and writing about sexual expression and pleasure. Agrani's "I am You", visual imagery depicts the journey of online abuse that resonates with most of us in many ways. Finally, Pooja's article on "Fear of Using a Menstrual Cup" comes at a time when the Roe V Wade US Supreme Court decision stormed our social media, along with the news of censorship of various abortion-related posts on Facebook and Instagram. Having faced similar removal attempts in her own blog, Pooja continues to share her initial fearful encounter with menstrual cups, her endless zeal to search about them on the internet and finally try the cup and write about the experience on our blog.

Read the blogs from our content creators here.

Content from Our Team

Our team member, Rita Baramu’s article on "Online Violence: Women and the Marginalized" got published. The article critically looks at online violence, and how it is connected with various aspects of digital rights such as individual privacy, freedom of expression and freedom from violence. The article also analyses how online violence impacts differently among diverse gender groups or people from marginalised communities. For eg. "If an individual is a cis-heterosexual man, maybe he wouldn’t be targeted for online violence or even if he would, it would be based on his political/religious opinions/beliefs. While in the case of women and people from the margins, their sexuality is targeted and kept at the centre of the conversation".

Read the full article here.

Congratulations to Shubha for being Selected for the Asia Leaders 2021 Young Leaders Network

We congratulate our team member, Shubha Kayastha, for being selected for the Asia 21 Young Leaders Network, Cohort of 2022. Shubha was chosen for the Cohort of 2022, along with 39 other leaders around the globe. Shubha's definition of "leadership" means that “A good leader prioritises sharing power & opportunities with the community & the team while being open about their strength and vulnerabilities.”

Know more about the profile of all 40 Asia 21 Young Leaders here.

Constituency Building and Campaigns

Feminist Tech Exchange with Queer Folks

Feminist Tech Exchange (FTX) is a digital security workshop, that utilises a unique methodology for building capacities through understanding and sharing emerging digital-related issues while questioning the societal and political aspects of technology through a feminist lens. During the quarter, we had two FTX workshops, that interlink sexuality, gender, feminism and the internet. Through the two FTX, we got to collaborate with 35 queer individuals and activists to capacitate digital security tools and strategies, while facilitating conversations around the feminist internet, online violence and data privacy.

Petition to the Election Commission on Right to Privacy & Data Privacy at Times of Election

Photo of Shubha handing the letter to Dinesh Thapalaiya, Chief of the Election Comission of Nepal

While Nepal observed its 2nd local elections, concerns regarding privacy and data privacy of voters were raised when the Election Commission made its database of voters' details publicly available on its website. Such open access to the private information of millions of Nepali people infringes their right to privacy while also putting their information at risk for misuse, theft, targeted surveillance, stalking of marginalized and vulnerable communities and more.

A total of 20 international digital rights organisations, 4 national civil society organisations and 1003 Nepali citizens signed the petition which was collected over the month of May through shared documents and change.org.

On 4th July 2022, Body & Data along with concerned civil society groups met the chief of the Election Commission of Nepal, Mr Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya and handed the signed petition asking to safeguard the voter's data publicly available on the commission's website.

Other Engagements

Rights Con 2022: Building Bridges: Digital security strategies for women and people of marginalized genders

A workshop on "Building Bridges: Digital security strategies for women and people of marginalized gender" was facilitated by Point of View Mumbai on 10 June 2020 at Rights Con 2022 where critical reflections were done on experiences around digital security in terms of gender-based violence, privacy breached and other security aspects through intersectional perspective and building strategies and responses. Kabita Bahing from Body & Data co-facilitated the workshop along with other facilitators. The session created a space for multiple experiences of digital security to come in limelight and their strategies to respond to them on multiple levels.

#BornWithPride: Making Sex-Education Queer Friendly organized by Freidrich Naumann Foundation, South Asia

On the occasion of PRIDE Month 2022, Freidrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF), South Asia organised a webinar #BornWithPride: Making Sex-Education Queer Friendly where Neha Gauchan from our team moderated the session. The session discussed the importance of having a conversation about queer-friendly sex education and the gaps in the curriculum itself. The session also delved beyond the parameters of formal educational settings and explored what safer spaces meant for queer individuals.

You can watch the recorded live video on FNF's Facebook here.

Digital Rights Scenario and Its Intersections in Nepal

Online platforms and social media have been more crucial than ever for women and marginalized groups to bring their stories of identities, pleasure as well as sexual violence and trauma in recent times. Queer-identifying people openly sharing what their identity and pride mean to them is one of the instances of social media being used to highlight stories of diverse identities. The news and images of queer communities and allies taking over the street on pride parade were covered by almost all mainstream media during June. Multiple stories either progressive or protectionist and queerphobic were highlighted in the media too. It seems that the media and the storytellers still need to learn to bring queer supportive narratives.

Similarly, different groups of civil society, activists and civilians came together to protest against the existing horrific sexual violence against women and queer folks and the statutory limitation on cases of rape and sexual violence. The protest was an aftermath of the story of sexual abuse shared by a former child artist and beauty pageant winner through her TikTok account. Tiktok even banned her stories stating that it's against the community guidelines of the platform which proves that social media like TikTok is patriarchal at its core and lacks sensitivity towards the issue of women and marginalized people. Several women continued sharing their stories of sexual abuse on social media and demanded justice for themselves against their perpetrators while also asking for accountability from the government and society against their perpetrators. The continuation of the protest by different groups of activists was also observed. This proves that digital platforms have been a crucial space for people to share their stories of violence and also a space to show solidarity and support, assemble and organize for social causes too.

Digital Rights Reading List

1. Civil society sounds alarm: Twitter acquisition would be a "potential privacy nightmare"
2. White paper on feminist internet research
3. These Period Tracker Apps Say They Put Privacy First. Here’s What We Found.
4. Technology, data and elections: A 'checklist' on the election cycle by Privacy International
5. Elections in the age of social media
6. Documentation of data exploitation in sexual and reproductive rights
7. Senator: Overturning Roe Will 'Weaponize' Women's Data

Upcoming Events around Digital Rights

1. Call for applications for CREA’s Disability, Sexuality, and Rights Online Institute (DSROI) from 7 October - 17 November 2022
2. Asia Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum 2022 (APrIGF 2022) from 12 - 14 September 2022
3. Code for All Summit 2022 from 26 - 29 September 2022
4. All about VPNs by Digital Enquirer Kit on 26 July 2022

Established in 2017, Body & Data works to enhance understanding and access to information on digital rights among women, queer people and minority groups where they are able to exercise their rights in a safe and just digital space. We work towards the vision of accessible, safe and just digital space for all, through cross movement building, facilitation for access to information, knowledge building and dissemination on digital rights in the context of Nepal

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