Syeda Ayesha Subhani
(Lahore School of Economics. Kashf Foundation)
Ahmad Nawaz
(Lahore School of Economics)
Fariya Hashmat
(Lahore School of Economics)
Asad Ghalib
(Liverpool Hope University)
Issam Malki
(University of Westminster)
Format:
Panel
Streams:
Gender & generation
Technology & innovation
Sessions:
Wednesday 6 July, -
Time zone: Europe/London
Role of Digital Technology and Innovations in Bridging Gender-inequality for Just Sustainable Futures..
Panel P32c at conference DSA2022: Just sustainable futures in an urbanising and mobile world.
Digital Technology and innovations may play an instrumental role in overcoming Gender disparities and injustice, particularly amidst patriarchy and spatial disparities, thus leading to just sustainable futures.
Long Abstract:
Digital technology and innovations in many ways may impact equitable growth and development crucial for just sustainable futures. Nonetheless, without gender-justice, the process of equitable and sustainable future is a remote possibility. Its importance is further highlighted in times of climate and ecological crises, such as during recent covid-19. This panel thus aims to invite both papers and case studies, built on quantitative and qualitative findings/results, which explore the role of digital technology and innovations in overcoming gender-inequalities, paving sustainable future pathways, in following manners:
-Digital technology and innovations, beyond its instrumental role of connectivity, may surface up as a means to reflect and mitigate gender-inequalities in health, education, income/economic opportunities, inheritance, poverty, migration, violence and many other areas constituting gender-injustice.
-Digital technology's outreach and role goes beyond the notion of connectivity and communication around the globe, while disregarding spatial, patriarchal and other divides. For example, during pandemic times, through use of digital technology and innovations such as digital apps, helplines, social media platforms and online redressal forums, collaborations were made among several social, economic, legal, civic and political institutions to address, provide redressal and to mitigate the incidents of gender inequalities, acts of violence and discrimination.
-Digital technology may also impact the supply side of gender-justice besides demand for justice, through interventionist measures in legal spheres.
Work in the said area from both non- and patriarchal social setup as well as global north and south, will be equally accommodated.
This is a paper-based and not a workshop panel, following DSA’s digital pedagogy of more focus on discussion and debate on new evidence, ideas and approach originating from the work of the contributors/presenters.
Three weeks prior to Conference-Week, contributors/presenters will be required to submit full presentations (and/or paper) in any of the forms such as video/video-with-slides/slides-with-audio/podcast/audio-only/text-only; with input of 8-12min (equivalent to 1200-1800words) excluding references. On the presentation day, each paper will be allocated a total of 10-12minutes; where each presenter will have 5-6 minutes to present while starting with a 2-3min pitch highlighting the intriguing question and main contribution, followed by 5-6minutes for chair/discussants’ comments. Thereafter, the house will open for Q&A, discussion and debate.
Gendered gaps in access to and usage of digital technologies poses socio-human development challenges. They have a two-way relationship with structural and systematic inequalities. This paper attempts to explore the extent, nature, and implications of gender digital divide in the Pakistani context.
Paper long abstract:
Digital technologies have the potential to address the deep-rooted, systematic, and structural inequalities that have posed long-standing development challenges for women. However, increasing proliferation of these technologies has led to the emergence of a newer form of gender inequalities in development. namely the Gender Digital Divide. Rooted in structural inequalities, this gap in access to and usage of digital technologies poses threats to inclusive, equitable, and sustainable development. The inequalities in outcomes with respect to health, education, livelihood, etc. cannot be addressed through digitalization if inequalities in access to these technologies due to gaps in available opportunities, in terms of access and usage, for women are not accounted for. Ranking 151st on a list of 153 countries included in the Gender Gap Index of 2020, Pakistan is a country marred with stark gender disparities in access to resources and opportunities. For Pakistan to exploit the unmatched potential of digital technologies to address gender-based challenges to human development, it requires an assessment of the levels as well as the nature of gender digital divide prevalent in the country. Using secondary data from the Pakistan Social and Living Standard Measurement Survey 2019-2020, this paper explores the gender digital divide in Pakistan and discusses its two-way nature with existing inequalities in the society with reference to sustainable development implications.
The pervasive gender-based-violence has remained an intrusion in sustainable pathways to development. However, access of victimized women to digital technology has turned out to be a significant factor in women's access to justice against violence, bridging gender-inequalities for just futures.
Paper long abstract:
Beyond the notion of connectivity and communication, Digital Technology renders itself as an obstruction in the nexus of violence-against-women, injustice for victims and impunity for perpetrators, thus perpetually hindering just pathways to development. Evidence from Punjab Pakistan reveals how Victimized-woman's Access-to-Technology turns out as a means for affected women to reach-out for justice. In the process of justice for VAW cases, reporting of violence is the most preliminary step, which requires connecting with and communicating the incident to law-enforcement agencies. Reporting is predominantly more of a challenge under patriarchy due to structural constraints of social acceptance of violence-against-women by men and inhibited mobility of women. Despite such an injustice breeding environment, access of victimized women to mobile phone significantly results in affected woman's ability to report the incident to law-enforcement. Such an impact of digital technology is transformative of the imbalance in gender-equalities. Evidence further reveals that where in patriarchy a man's perception of treating a woman prevails, women by having access to digital technology tend to disregard violence-justifying-attitude of men towards them and rather go on to repot the incident and seek justice for their safety and honor. Moreover, even if her decision to end victimhood is inhibited in cases where she knows the perpetrator and her own house is the assault-place and as she further gets intimidated by harassment and discrimination, digital technology goes all out to empowering her to access justice and report violence to law-enforcement.
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Ahmad Nawaz (Lahore School of Economics)
Fariya Hashmat (Lahore School of Economics)
Asad Ghalib (Liverpool Hope University)
Issam Malki (University of Westminster)
Short Abstract:
Digital Technology and innovations may play an instrumental role in overcoming Gender disparities and injustice, particularly amidst patriarchy and spatial disparities, thus leading to just sustainable futures.
Long Abstract:
Digital technology and innovations in many ways may impact equitable growth and development crucial for just sustainable futures. Nonetheless, without gender-justice, the process of equitable and sustainable future is a remote possibility. Its importance is further highlighted in times of climate and ecological crises, such as during recent covid-19. This panel thus aims to invite both papers and case studies, built on quantitative and qualitative findings/results, which explore the role of digital technology and innovations in overcoming gender-inequalities, paving sustainable future pathways, in following manners:
-Digital technology and innovations, beyond its instrumental role of connectivity, may surface up as a means to reflect and mitigate gender-inequalities in health, education, income/economic opportunities, inheritance, poverty, migration, violence and many other areas constituting gender-injustice.
-Digital technology's outreach and role goes beyond the notion of connectivity and communication around the globe, while disregarding spatial, patriarchal and other divides. For example, during pandemic times, through use of digital technology and innovations such as digital apps, helplines, social media platforms and online redressal forums, collaborations were made among several social, economic, legal, civic and political institutions to address, provide redressal and to mitigate the incidents of gender inequalities, acts of violence and discrimination.
-Digital technology may also impact the supply side of gender-justice besides demand for justice, through interventionist measures in legal spheres.
Work in the said area from both non- and patriarchal social setup as well as global north and south, will be equally accommodated.
This is a paper-based and not a workshop panel, following DSA’s digital pedagogy of more focus on discussion and debate on new evidence, ideas and approach originating from the work of the contributors/presenters.
Three weeks prior to Conference-Week, contributors/presenters will be required to submit full presentations (and/or paper) in any of the forms such as video/video-with-slides/slides-with-audio/podcast/audio-only/text-only; with input of 8-12min (equivalent to 1200-1800words) excluding references. On the presentation day, each paper will be allocated a total of 10-12minutes; where each presenter will have 5-6 minutes to present while starting with a 2-3min pitch highlighting the intriguing question and main contribution, followed by 5-6minutes for chair/discussants’ comments. Thereafter, the house will open for Q&A, discussion and debate.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Wednesday 6 July, 2022, -