This single mom is fighting to protect Pakistani women from cyberbullying

For Nighat Dad, founder of non-profit organization Digital Rights Foundation, it was her personal struggle to gain legal custody of her son that alerted her to the abysmal state of women’s rights in Pakistan. Following a tumultuous marriage which lasted only 18 months, Nighat became embroiled in a legal wrangle with her influential ex-husband over sole custody of their child.

Although trained as a lawyer, Nighat saw the legal system conspiring against her, with her husband using his position as a government bureaucrat to pull strings and wrest control of the child. Despite advice to the contrary, she refused to give up and contested the battle single-handedly. While she eventually came out on top, others in her position weren’t so fortunate.

“Whenever I went for court proceedings I saw women who were miserable, harassed, and fighting lone battles for their kids. Many approached me for help and I wanted to ease their pressures,” Nighat tells Tech in Asia.

Despite winning the battle, Nighat, who hails from a family with modest means, faced an uncertain future. She needed to earn money to look after her infant child, but the only lucrative recourse was to pursue a career in corporate law. If she chose this route, it would have sidetracked her from doing what she was supremely passionate about: educating women on their legal rights and helping them claim what was rightfully theirs.

Again she decided to ignore the advice of her friends and family and dove into the world of advocacy and promoting women’s rights. Her initial work revolved around studying the Pakistani constitution in detail and examining existing parameters which guaranteed women’s rights. This was in 2007.

Protecting digital footprints

Around the same time Pakistan was witnessing an internet revolution of sorts. The web started permeating Pakistan’s urban populace and there was an explosion in the number of social media users. Nighat says she was approached by several women asking for advice and help on how to deal with unruly online behavior. “While most [women] understood there were laws to deal with potentially harmful offline behavior, the online space was completely new to everyone. They wanted to know what the legal remedies were for online harassment,” she adds.

Internet users in Pakistan were not alone in voicing these concerns. A 2014 Pew Research Center survey revealed 73 percent of online adults had witnessed harassment online, with 40 percent personally affected by it. Young adults, in the 18 to 29 age bracket, were cited to be the most harassed demographic, with 65 percent experiencing some form of online abuse.

Nighat explains that this evolving space convinced her of the need to focus wholly on safeguarding women’s digital rights. Existing legislation dealing with cybercrime had lapsed as it wasn’t incorporated by parliament into a fully-fledged act. There was a legal loophole which could be exploited.

I thought to myself that this wasn’t right. If people are using technology then there should be safeguards. From there on I started working on policy implementations and improving legal structure.

One of the biggest obstacles Nighat faced in her quest was the complete lack of understanding of the space. Harassment, stalking, and blackmailing was considered to be a regular part of the online experience. People thought that if one decided to use the internet, they should be prepared to experience such behavior. Women, especially those from the more conservative areas of the country, were afraid to voice their concerns to government authorities and as a result would receive thousands of unsolicited messages, videos, and “friend requests.”

Hectic efforts

In 2010, Nighat joined a human rights organization and think tank focusing on information and communication technology. She quickly expanded her work to educate women from all parts of Pakistan on understanding their digital footprints and taking measures to safeguard their privacy. “As social media was a new thing, people were very excited and eager to join. But what they didn’t understand was that because of its very public nature, anyone could potentially view their profiles and read shared content. This led to unwanted behavior and online harassment,” she explains.