Self Defence for 1000 young girls in Nagpur, India

The Internet can be both; a boon and a bane. Digital spaces can serve as empowering places of opinion-formation, debate and mobilisation. However, cyberbullying and hate speech restrict the opportunities offered by digitalisation. Young people, especially women, are put off from taking part in political discussions or online debates due to online harassment.

Having access to the internet and the online world is not common for rural areas and small towns in India.However, due to the lockdown in Nagpur, India, self-defence trainings were held online. Through this, the girls were exposed to an online landscape, filled with opportunities as well as challenges. 

Our partners were quick to identify the need to organise a workshop for the girls to help them counter cyber bullying and hate speech.  It turned out that the girls , at several instances, had already faced online abuse and shared those experiences. The workshop provided the girls with tips and tricks to overcome cyber-bullying. The girls, together with the trainers, reflected upon the need for internet to be a safe place to enable young people to express their opinions. Cyber bullying or abuse has to be prevented if we want to ensure the full online participation of youth, especially young women and girls, whose voices are less heard. 

We are so proud of our partners as well as the girls who are moving ahead with the changing times. 

We hope all of you are keeping stay safe and healthy.

Regards,

Karuna Team