ISLAMABAD:Digital Rights Foundation (DRF) announces the release of its research titled “Surveillance of Female Journalists in Pakistan”, a pilot study that explores the gendered surveillance that female journalists experience.

The study details the experiences of seven female journalists and the surveillance that they face in the course of their work and beyond. The research focuses on the gendered forms and the different sources of surveillance, including the state, audience members and political groups.

The female journalists interviewed for the study stated that not only were they surveilled by state authorities, but are also subjected to constant social surveillance in the form of abuse on social media - largely directed at their gender and appearance, rather than their work.

In addition to mapping the forms of surveillance faced by female journalists, the report also explores the impact that this constant monitoring has, in terms of the psychological toll, self-censorship and retreat from digital spaces.

Nighat Dad, the Founder and Executive Director of Digital Rights Foundation, said that this is an important conversation to have because “gendered surveillance is a free speech issue - it lets women know that they are being monitored, and discourages them from reporting and participating in digital spaces”.

The journalists who participated in the research also talked about the toll surveillance can take on their professional and personal lives. Saba Eitizaz felt that social surveillance online has often had “a tremendous psychological effect [and] I felt violated”.

In her experience, Kiran Nazish said, “it’s not just one person telling you that you don’t belong here, it’s a number of people and that constant refrain can be very intimidating and one starts to feel cornered”. The extent of surveillance is so pervasive for journalists that Maria Memon told DRF that “even if I was told that I could tweet about anything without repercussions, I don’t think I would still do it because I don’t think that surveillance is completely avoidable”.

The research aims to add to the conversation around free speech, freedom of the press, surveillance and gender. DRF also aims to mainstream the idea of social surveillance as part of the definition of surveillance - where surveillance is not only carried out by the state, but also by social non-state actors. It is hoped that this study will highlight the gendered experience of female journalists and the specific problems they have to face.

Digital Rights Foundation is a research and advocacy based NGO that works on issues of surveillance, privacy, internet governance and online harassment.