Experts called for increased cyber security and confidentiality by raising widespread awareness among internet users in Bangladesh.
Speakers at a web-based seminar – webinar called upon the government and private institutions to find secured use of the internet, especially for women while at the same time enhance women’s capacity to safely expose themselves in the world of online interactions without facing harassment.
Speakers made the recommendations at a seminar on, “Safe Cyber Space for Women” organized by ARTICLE 19 held on Wednesday.
Experts on cybercrime and gender rights activist took part in discussing and called for raising awareness on gender equality and crimes against women in cyberspace.
Awareness on internet use for citizens, men and women of all ages, confidentiality of personal information, including secure passwords management, inclusion of Internet ethics in school curricula, non-use of unsafe apps and reporting harassment to law enforcement officials were highlighted in the discussion event.
The discussion raised issues of collective awareness and the responsibility of families, educational institutions, media and government agencies in ensuring the safe use of the Internet in our daily lives, especially for women.
Additional Deputy Commissioner, Najmul Islam who has been working on cybercrime for more than five years and has vast expertise on cybercrime, said, “Bangladesh has high rate of cyber bullying and crime against a single person and 80 percent of the victims are women between the ages of 14 and 22. On the other hand, a significant portion of cyber criminals and hackers are teenagers between the ages of 16 and 17.”
He called upon teachers at colleges and universities besides schools to play a role in this regard in educating the youths about this issue.
Dr Lafifa Jamal believes that 80 percent of the risk can be avoided if awareness of the use of the internet is raised. She further added, "In real life, the relationship changes over time, so no case can be a private matter like password which can be given to anyone else such as husband or boyfriend. Like social life, children and adolescents need to be made aware of what should and should not be done online. Therefore, parents and teachers also need to be aware of the importance of online safety.”
Naznin Nahar said, "We need to ensure a trusted and cordial environment for women victims of cybercrime at police stations or other complaint centres. Around 48 percent of women who are victims of online harassment are village teenagers and young women who risk their safety by using unsafe apps. It is necessary to take massive initiatives at the public-private level to make them aware.”
Sadat Rahman, winner of the Children Peace Prize for developing an anti-bulling app called Cyber Teens, observed that, “In districts like Narail, the awareness of teenagers about the internet is very low and the local authorities lack skills in online crime investigation.”
He stated that he started working on this issue after the suicide of a teenager who was the victim of cyber bullying. Sadat is currently working with the local district and police administrations to solve various problems through the Cyber Teens app.
The internet is an important part of our lives at today’s age and in no circumstance should anyone be left behind or bullied and harassed through this mean. Thus, it is important to bring issues of women's safety in the forefront of cyber security conversations as women face an unfortunate bias when it comes to cyber bullying and crimes.
Faruq Faisel, Bangladesh and South Asia Regional Director of ARTICLE 19 presided over the webinar. Dr Lafifa Jamal, Professor of Robotics and Mechatronics Engineering at Dhaka University and President of Bangladesh Women in Technology; Najmul Islam, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) of the Cyber Crime Investigation Division of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), Naznin Nahar, Managing Director of the technology company Tech Solutions and editor and publisher of the monthly Techworld Bangladesh; and Sadat Rahman, founder of Cyber Teens and International Children's Peace Prize 2020 winner were the panellist at the event.
The event was moderated by Moriom Shelley, Program Officer and Gender Focal Point at ARTICLE 19 Bangladesh and South Asia.
