The Butterfly Effect

Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come. Web 2.0 besides being one of the technological advancement of the digital era, has demonstrated its indispensability in acting as catalyst for bringing on social change. Had not been for Web 2.0, dissemination of knowledge at the speed of light would not be possible. It has truly transformed our modern world into a global village by doing away with the geographical constraints and facilitating the interactions and collaborations among people sitting in different corners of the earth through real time information sharing.

One of the prime reasons behind the suppression of women around the world is that a majority of women are unable to speak for themselves or take a stand as they lack a support system that can encourage them to voice out what they are going through. Web 2.0 to a substantial extent provides a crucial platform to the women to come forward and discuss and share their problems. It enables them to mobilize public support in their favor. It has galvanized the women’s empowerment movement to a higher potential globally by providing them with strong collaborative networks and access to world-wide audience. It has opened up a whole new world brimming with opportunities.

Hailing from a region where women have been deprived of their basic rights since centuries and most of them have been a victim of gender-driven crimes, the tools of digital media have assumed revolutionary significance. In my opinion, access to social media platforms enables women to shrug-off their psychological and social inertia and assert their freedom of expression by sharing their ordeals and experience with others. Such interactions strengthen our self-confidence and provide a boost to our morale and value-system. My mother suffered a lot since her childhood. Her sufferings continued even after she stepped into the institution of marriage. All this while she felt so alone and left-out. It was only when we grew up and started voicing out the miseries she was going through that things became better. Hence, I see Web 2.0 as a game-changer. For women suffering in silence, digital media addresses their vital need of affiliation by letting them being a part of a larger global family of victims, activists and change-agents. It has made me realize that I am not alone in the struggle of speaking out against the wrongs being done to the women in my society. When people rise above their distinctions of caste, creed and gender and come together for bringing on a positive change, they can indeed usher our planet into the dawn of that change. This is the intrinsic beauty of the butterfly effect wherein the cumulative impact of every action, feeblest of voice, smallest of contributions can ultimately alter the lives of women for better.