Angry women demand safer environment online
■ Ministry says chatrooms are not meant for women
Chatrooms are not for women, says ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) as part of Infosec awareness on its website. While one of the quick tips for women in the cyber world reads “Avoid participating in chat rooms, they are not for us,” another reads “Don’t be happy if someone praises you online.”
MeitY runs a programme, Information Security Education and Awareness (ISEA) to draw attention to following ethics while using the Internet and recommending against sharing rumours or fake news. The Information Security Education and Awareness Project Phase II was developed by CDAC Hyderabad.
This issue was first pointed out by a twitter user Chetna Kumar on Thursday when she said cyber security tips were “regressive” and a waste of taxpayers’ money. “Women routinely face targeted online harassment in India. MeitY would have us shrink from online platforms altogether (sic)”
The tips were listed under Information Security Awareness for Women on the infosec awareness website. Women vented their ire over this advice. Ms Shubhra Hajela, Psychologist who works for inclusion and diversity said, “I think this is one of the most regressive things to say. Instead of saying women shouldn’t be there, they should actually have more safety framework. This statement is like going back and saying ‘this happened because you are a woman. Women and men should definitely be happy if someone praises you be it offline or online”.
Women said that instead of limiting people’s freedom asking them not to use the chatroom, etiquette for online chat for everyone was needed. There is a need to create an online environment which is progressive rather than regressive and the onus shouldn’t just be on women but also men on how to behave in chatrooms. Ms Deepthi Ravula said, “Such advice – don’t use chartroom or some other app – is not going to work out. It is the digital age, everything is penetrating everywhere in everyone’s life. It is more important to have standards which ensure safety not just for women but everybody. That’s the way to go forward.”
However, security experts say that people can chat anywhere and chatrooms have evolved. McAfee Cybermum, Ms Anindita Mishra said, “The digital experience is wonderful and has opened up so many channels. There are many different ways to chat and chatrooms have been around. One has to be careful. Be it on twitter or facebook a quick background check can be done.”