Workshop on Empowering the Digital Capabilities of Young Women Politicians to Counter Online Harassment
Despite the increasing stronger participation of young women in Bangladesh’s political landscape in the digital era, the risks of online harassment, hate speech, cyber-bullying and misinformation continue to rise in parallel. To address this challenging reality and to enhance the digital resilience and self-protection skills of young women in politics a productive and interactive session titled “Empowering Young Political Women for a Safer Digital Space” was held at The Daily Star Centre in Dhaka.
This timely initiative to ensure the digital safety of young women in politics was undertaken by Lal Sabuj Society with Foundation for Women Possibilities serving as the supporting partner.
Thirty enthusiastic and talented young women leaders from various political parties and affiliated organizations across the country actively participated in this workshop.
In the opening segment of the event, representatives of Lal Sabuj Society stated with conviction, “Young women in Bangladesh’s political landscape are not only driving change, but they are also standing at the forefront of that change. While their online presence stands as a symbol of strength on one side, on the other side it also exposes them to targeted attacks by malicious community. Therefore, creating a safe, inclusive and harassment free digital environment for all young women leaders has become an urgent imperative for us all.
This half day’s special session was not merely a discussion only it included hands-on and practical training. Participants received comprehensive guidance on digital security, protecting personal privacy, effective and ethical communication strategies and practical techniques to prevent online gender based harassments.
The training was conducted by Shoaib Abdullah, Co-Founder of Activate Rights and Minhaj Aman, Head of Research and Policy. The facilitators guided the participants on methods of identifying online threats, safe use of digital tools and platforms and most importantly shed valuable light on the significance of building strong, collaborative support networks.
Lal Sabuj Society stated that through this initiative, the participating young political women not only gained advanced knowledge on online safety but will also be part of a robust peer-support network in the future. Through this network, they will be able to exchange knowledge and offer mutual support on a regular basis among themselves further strengthening their collective digital security in the political sphere.
This half day long workshop concluded with an ‘Action Plan and Closing Reflections’ session, where each participant pledged to uphold safe, aware and responsible digital practices in their political activities. Lal Sabuj Society expressed strong optimism that this groundbreaking initiative will pave the way for a smoother and more secure digital presence for young women in politics.