On the Web, too, women are the invisible gender
It’s time we identified the social and cultural barriers that discourage women from using the Internet
While conducting research on young women’s engagement with online spaces, I had a conversation with 16-year-old Jyoti about how she uses the Internet. Jyoti, who lives in a single room apartment with her two parents and older brother, told me that every time she logs in to the internet, her brother looks over her shoulder to keep an eye on which website she is accessing. While it is acceptable for her to use online dictionaries for help with homework and access news websites, she is not allowed to use Facebook or other social media sites. Unlike her brother, she is also not allowed to have a mobile phone since her parents are worried that she might use it to chat with boys.
The ‘Digital in 2017’ report compiled by Hootsuite and We Are Social demonstrates that compared to the global Internet penetration rate of 50%, only 35% of the Indian population uses the Internet. This divide is largely understood in terms of lack of access to digital resources and the absence of digital literacy skills. However, the report also makes visible gender as a crucial factor that determines internet usage; the report demonstrates that when it comes to Facebook users, the percent- age of male users outnumber female users in every age group. In India, of the total 191 million Facebook users in India, only 24% are female. In order to close the digital divide, we must therefore recognise not only the economic factors but also address the social and cultural barriers that discourage women from meaningfully using the Internet.
Recently, a panchayat in Uttar Pradesh decided to impose a fine on women seen using mobile phones. Such a fear must be understood in the broader context of patriarchal restrictions on women’s autonomy, mobility and self-expression. Efforts by women to participate in online spaces and make their voices heard is often met with violence , leading women to withdraw from such spaces.
Earlier this year, Gurmehar Kaur spoke about deleting her Facebook account after receiving rape threats in response to one of her posts. The incident exemplifies how the presence of women in online spaces and their participation in political debates is seen as a challenge to the status quo that limits women’s participation to the private sphere. Efforts towards addressing the gender gap in internet access and use must not only take into account issues of access but also work towards creating spaces where women can participate without fear of violence. Only then can the potential of the internet as a space for education, self-expression and mobilisation be realised.