Asia

Women in Pakistan face sexual harassment in public spaces and in the digital sphere. We talked with Nighat Dad, founder of the Digital Rights Foundation, about women’s experiences and how virtual abuse can be countered.

Many young Cambodians have little knowledge about the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime. The Bophana Center developed an app that provides free access to these historical events.

China suffers from draconian internet regulations, but enjoys a prosperous marketplace; it attracts IT giants from the United States and Europe, but it has also expelled some of them.

Instead of top-down reforms for the media, the countries in Southeast Asia need policies that prioritize the public’s interests.

Social media in ASEAN has quickly evolved from being a passive tool for knowledge consumption and entertainment to an active mechanism for change.

For decades, Myanmar was among the most isolated countries in the world. Although the process of democratization and the internet have changed things, people still cannot express themselves freely.

While the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act aims to counter rampant online harassment and terrorist content, it drew criticism for severely impacting citizens’ rights to expression and privacy.

Social media has played a critical role in influencing change in Afghanistan. The potential anonymity of the internet offers great opportunities for women.

The Indian national identity system, Aadhaar, was set up to empower disadvantaged groups and enable digital innovation. However, it has sparked protests.

Over the last years, Asia has undergone an impressive digital transformation. Large parts of the continent have turned from the world’s factory into a creative industry. Digitalization has become a driving force of social and economic change. This certainly means more opportunities for innovation and growth for many countries. However, on the flipside, if new technologies are in the wrong hands they can also be used as a mean to abuse power.