By: Vidisha Singh
“Patriarchy is like the sky – it is everywhere.” My Sociology Professor was not wrong when he said this. Just when we assume that online spaces and the world, in general, are becoming better places for women, we are shaken out of our delusion and thrown back to the harsh realities. The 2019 general elections have done exactly that.
Participating in the Troll Patrol India Project with Amnesty International India as a decoder, I was exposed to a plethora of tweets sent to female politicians before, during and after elections. The project aimed at crowd-sourcing these tweets to a large group of individuals, each with a different perspective, to analyse and flag any problematic or abusive content. Ranging from blatant objectification to threats of physical and sexual violence, the sheer bulk of defamatory and problematic content aimed at these women reeks of the deep-rooted patriarchal and discriminatory mindset that prevails in our country. For me, this project concretised the actuality of this problem by exposing the pervasive nature of discrimination against women.
The fundamental step towards solving this problem is recognising its sheer magnitude. The fact that millions of women, who stand up for the rights and freedoms of millions, are regularly subjected to such degrading treatment testify to the exploitation they face on our allegedly safe online spaces. Engaging with other decoders on the discussion forum helped me expand my understanding of the various problems faced by women on the internet.
There is a need to explain the difference between meaningful discourse and problematic targeting to the populace on mainstream media. The folly lies not in the pursuit of answers to one’s questions, but in the way in which these opposing ideologies are questioned. One should be able to initiate such discussions on mainstream media without the fear of being shot down by comments and slurs directed at one’s gender, identity or background. It is only by indulging in a meaningful discourse on a universal platform will the cause of women representation and empowerment be championed in a more effective fashion.
Also, a Decodathon was organized earlier this month which brought many volunteers to connect offline. Another decoder, Madhulika Handoo shares, “In the five hours that the Decodathon lasted, the decoders went beyond decoding tweets. We discussed the underlying issues behind online trolling; issues like stereotyping, prejudices and biases. At the end of the day, while it felt good to have worked together as a community, some of the tweets – for their abusive content left a bad aftertaste; a feeling which made us realise that online abuse is a much bigger problem than we all ever imagined.”
We struggle to comprehend and work towards transforming the deep-rooted causes of misogyny and patriarchy; but just as we begin to close in with a solution that seems favourable, this monster grows another head – pervading into yet another aspect of societal life and reinforcing the glass ceiling, the shattering of which seems a bleak prospect anyway.
The author works as a Decoder with the Troll Patrol India Project, an initiative of Amnesty International India.