How Pakistani women are taking the internet back | Nighat Dad

Translator: Brian Bosire Reviewer: Nelson Simfukwe

Imagine waking up to a stranger --

Fikiria kuamka ukapata mgeni usiyemfahamu

sometimes multiple strangers --

wakati mwingine wageni wengi usiowafahamu

questioning your right to existence

wanaohoji haki yako ya kuishi

for something that you wrote online,

kwa kitu ulichoandika kwa mtandao

waking up to an angry message,

kuamkia ujumbe wa hasira

scared and worried for your safety.

ukiogopa na kuhofia usalama wako.

Welcome to the world of cyberharassment.

Karibu katika ulimwengu wa unyanyasaji wa mtandaoni.

The kind of harassment that women face in Pakistan is very serious

Aina ya unyanyasaji ambao wanawake wanakabiliana nao Pakistani ni mbaya sana

and leads to sometimes deadly outcomes.

na wakati mwengine unasababisha maafa makali.

This kind of harassment keeps women from accessing the internet --

Unyanyasaji wa aina hii unawazuia wanawake kutumia mtandao

essentially, knowledge.

hasa ujuzi.

It's a form of oppression.

Ni aina ya ukandamizaji

Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world,

Pakistani ni taifa la sita ulimwenguni kwa wingi wa idadi ya watu

with 140 million people having access to mobile technologies,

na watu milioni 140 wenye uwezo wa kutumia teknolojia ya simu,

and 15 percent internet penetration.

na asilimia 15 ya upenyo wa mtandao.

And this number doesn't seem to go down with the rise of new technologies.

Na idadi hii haionekani kukpunguka na mwamko wa teknolojia.

Pakistan is also the birthplace of the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner,

Pakistani pia ndilo taifa la kuzaliwa kwa mtu kijana kabisa kuwahi kushinda tuzo

Malala Yousafzai.

la Nobel Malala Yousafzai

But that's just one aspect of Pakistan.

Lakini hicho ni kipengele kimoja tu cha Pakistani.

Another aspect is where the twisted concept of honor

Kipengle kingine ni dhana iliyopotoka ya heshima

is linked to women and their bodies;

inayohusishwa na wanawake na miili yao;

where men are allowed to disrespect women

pahali ambapo wanaume wanakubaliwa kutowaheshimu wanawake

and even kill them sometimes

na wakati mwingi ata kuwaua

in the name of so-called "family honor";

wakisinzia ni "heshima ya familia";

where women are left to die right outside their houses

pahali ambapo wanawake wanaachwa wafe nje ya manyumba yao

for speaking to a man on a mobile phone,

kwa sababu ya kuzungumza na mwanaume kwa rununu

in the name of "family honor."

wakisinzia ni "heshima ya familia."

Let me say this very clearly:

Wacha niseme hivi bayana:

it's not honor;

siyo heshima;

it's a cold-blooded murder.

hayo ni mauaji.

I come from a very small village in Punjab, Pakistan,

Mimi natokea kijiji kidogo sana pale Punjab, Pakistani

where women are not allowed to pursue their higher education.

pahali ambapo wanawake hawaruhusiwi kuendelea na masomo ya juu.

The elders of my extended family didn't allow their women

Wakubwa wa jamaa yangu hawakuwaruhusu wanawake wao

to pursue their higher education or their professional careers.

waendelee na masomo ya juu ama taaluma zao.

However, unlike the other male guardians of my family,

Hata hivyo, tofauti na walezi waume wengine wa familia yangu,

my father was one who really supported my ambitions.

baba yangu ndiye aliye aliniunga mkono katika jitihada zangu

To get my law degree,

za kupata shahada ya uana sheria.

of course, it was really difficult,

Bila shaka ilikuwa vigumu

and [there were] frowns of disapproval.

na kulikuwa na manunguniko ya kutoridhika.

But in the end, I knew it's either me or them,

Lakini mwishowe nilijua ni mimi ama wao,

and I chose myself.

na nikachagua mimi

(Applause)

(Makofi)

My family's traditions and expectations for a woman

Mila ya familia yangu na matarajio ya mwanamke

wouldn't allow me to own a mobile phone until I was married.

hayangeniruhusu nimiliki rununu mpaka kuolewa.

And even when I was married,

Na ata nilpoolewa,

this tool became a tool for my own surveillance.

kifaa hiki kikawa kifaa cha ufuatiliaji wangu.

When I resisted this idea of being surveilled by my ex-husband,

Nilipokataa haya mafikira ya kufuatiliwa na mume wangu wa zamani,

he really didn't approve of this

hakukubalina na wazo hilo

and threw me out of his house,

na akanifurusha kutoka nyumbani,

along with my six-month-old son, Abdullah.

pamoja na mtoto wangu wa kiume wa miezi sita, Abdullah.

And that was the time when I first asked myself, "Why?

Na hapo ndipo nilipojiuliza mara ya kwanza, "Mbona?

Why are women not allowed to enjoy the same equal rights

Mbona wanawake hawaruhusiwi kufurahia haki sawa na wanaume

enshrined in our Constitution?

kama ilivyo katika katiba yetu?

While the law states that a woman has the same equal access

Ilhali sheria inasema ya kuwa mwanamke ana haki sawia

to the information,

kwa taarifa

why is it always men -- brothers, fathers and husbands --

mbona huwa ni wanaume mandugu, mababa na

mabwana, ndio wanaoturuzukia haki hizi

who are granting these rights to us,

kwa hiyo kuifanya sheria kuwa bila maana?"

effectively making the law irrelevant?"

Kwa hiyo nikaamua kuchukua hatua,

So I decided to take a step,

badala ya kuendelea kunungunikia

instead of keep questioning these patriarchal structures

hizi misingi na tamaduni

and societal norms.

Na nikaanzisha mwaka 2012

And I founded the Digital Rights Foundation in 2012

Digital Rights Foundation ili kushughulikia matatizo yanayowakumba

to address all the issues and women's experiences in online spaces

wanawake katika mtandao na unyanyasaji katika mtandao.

and cyberharassment.

Kutoka kushawishia mtandao

From lobbying for free and safe internet

bure na salama kuwashawishi wanawake

to convincing young women

utumizi wa mtandao salama ni haki yao ya kimsingi

that access to the safe internet is their fundamental, basic, human right,

Najaribu tetekeleza majumu yangu kwa kuanzisha msuko

I'm trying to play my part in igniting the spark

ili kuyajibu maswali ambayo yamekuwa yakinitatiza hii miaka yote

to address the questions that have bothered me all these years.

Na matumaini moyoni mwangu,

With a hope in my heart,

na kupeana suluhisho katika janga hili,

and to offer a solution to this menace,

nilianzisha msaada wa usaidizi wa kwanza Pakistani na katika eneo

I started Pakistan's and the region's first cyberharassment help line

Decemba 2016--

in December 2016 --

(Makofi)

(Applause)

kunyosha mkona wa usaidizi kwa wanawake wasiojua wamkimbilie nani

to extend my support to the women who do not know who to turn to

wanapokabiliana na tishio kkubwa mtandaoni.

when they face serious threats online.

Nawafikiria wanawake wasiokuwa na usaidizi unaohitajika

I think of the women who do not have the necessary support

kukabiliana na shida ya kili wanapojihisi hawako salama katika mtandao,

to deal with the mental trauma when they feel unsafe in online spaces,

na wakiendelea na shughuli zao za kila siku,

and they go about their daily activities,

wakidhani kuwa kuna tishio la ubakaji katika ujumbe wao.

thinking that there is a rape threat in their in-box.

Kuweza

Safe access to the internet is an access to knowledge,

na elimu ni uhuru.

and knowledge is freedom.

Ninapopigania haki z

When I fight for women's digital rights,

Ninapopigania maslahi ya wanawake ya kidijitali

I'm fighting for equality.

Ninaapigania usawa

Thank you.

Asanteni

(Applause)

(Makofi)