A voice for the voiceless

There are many things which excite me about WEB 2.0, the most exciting thing is that there is no longer physical boundaries to stop you being able to connect with people in all corners of the world even the most remotest parts and you don’t even have to leave the house to do so! With just a few clicks of a button you can connect with millions of people from different countries and cultures which in turn expands the potential resources and information at your disposal. Therefore there are many solutions provided for the global women’s empowerment movement starting with the basic yet priceless oppurtunity for women to connect personally and professionally simply by sharing their stories and experiences. The once voiceless are given a voice and a chance to highlight causes and issues which directly effect or impact upon them and which are usually unknown to the wider world. For example how Shekina was able to highlight the issue of breast ironing in Cameroon through her role as a World Pulse Correspondent which lead to CNN picking up and running the story. This is a perfect example of how an issue practised by and/or confined to a small community can be projected into the global headlines and how people can be encouraged to speak out and fight against such cultural ignorance's. There is also a large scope provided to expand perceptions and to encourage and inspire women to unite together to fight for their basic human rights and to challenge negative stereotypes. They can do this by showcasing their determination to speak out against gender bias/ violence and by directly challenging those who take advantage of them and holding them to account for their actions and crimes. A recent example would be the horrific Delhi rape case (16/12/2012) following which there was widespread media coverage using both the traditional mediums such as TV and newspapers as well as the internet. The coverage was worldwide and through the use of the public protests and peace vigils in Mumbai and through online tools such as Facebook and WhatsApp hundreds of thousands of women and even men were able demonstrate and to demand swift justice for the victim. The outcome was that the usually slow pace Indian judicial system was propelled to take swift action (i.e. the fast track court proceedings) and there was widespread condemnation and calls for the law to be reviewed and changed. The process although still ongoing is a big step towards equality and safeguarding women’s rights and freedom to an extent. On a personal level Web 2.0 is very empowering for me even though I was fortunate to be born in a developed country where women do play a prominent role in all spheres of public life to an extent. It has enabled me to continuously increase my knowledge about other countries and cultures and also to share my passions, beliefs and views. I have also been able to get involved in worthwhile causes and to use my gender in a positive way.