Unlike most countries, Pak's cybercrime law gives victims of image based violence protection to seek justice. But having a law isn't enough when legal sys is broken. I write w
@_meher
on the story of a girl struggling to have her abuser arrested since 2019
Every time my IELTS scores expire - that's after every 2 years - I question (some more) this whole system that is built to oppress the global south.
I didn't forget English in two years. Who forgets English in two years?!
Petition to have this scam stopped immediately, please!
🚨 The Pakistan govt just approved the data protection law that you must pay attention to.
I read it so you don't have to (even though you should).
Here's a long thread on the law and just some of the things that are very worrying.
3. Don't record content directly from the camera. Instead put phone on airplane mode, open camera & then record screen. This will help reduce the amount of metadata linked to your photo. For remaining metadata, use an exif cleaner before uploading photo/video online.
1) if you can afford it, take a burner phone w you; leave main phone at home.
This will ensure your info is safe on the main phone, & if anyone tries to geotrack, your main phone isn't present there.
This also protects your phone from being confiscated in case arrests happen.
Why is no one organising a workshop on how to file your own taxes? This should have been taught in school, I know, but someone please do the labour now. I'll enroll.
2. Only save emergency contacts in your (potentially burner) phone who you can immediately inform in case arrests or violence erupt. Also a good idea to write these numbers somewhere on your arm or inside of your shirt where they can't be seen or erased.
5. When you do upload content after the protest, blur visible faces and any other identifiable features in the photos/video. People's faces, clothes, tattoos, scars, marks etc. You can use blurring tools or draw over faces within your gallery.
Respect others' privacy & safety.
7. Wear clothes that you don't want to be seen wearing again. Cover any tattoos & scars. So in case someone tries to identify people afterwards, they can't identify you. Consider wearing clothes with no prints or patterns. And of course, wear a mask.
6. Encrypt your phone + sign out of all your accounts and remove saved passwords before going to the protest, so if your phone gets stolen or lost, your data is safe.
A lot of people say that rape cases dropped to zero during Zia. But what they don't know is that rapes did not stop happening, the cases stopped getting reported because women were either killed after rape, or they could not produce 4 witnesses who saw penetration happening. 1/
Those who do not live in Karachi do not get to have an opinion on how its residents should react when the city is destroyed every year after a few hours of rain.
So Imran Khan has this massive ego because people inflate it so much for him, literally for no reason at all. It's hilarious to listen to these people talk about him.
The govt of Pakistan is pulling another privacy violation attempt by ordering telecom companies in the country to put a mass surveillance system, ironically called "Lawful Intercept Management System" or LIMS, to surveil on everything that transmits through their network. 1/
It's proof that men are not fit to be in powerful positions. Very sensitive, short tempered, egotistical, and can't take criticism. It makes them very emotional and violent.
Hi, those in Pakistan, could you please confirm if your internet is working fine? Have you noticed any change in speed since morning? Which network and city?
RT for visibility please.
How do you as a woman continue to have the will to exist anywhere? Not safe inside homes, not safe on the streets and highways, not safe on the internet. Where do we go?
I don't recall if I have felt this kind of pain since APS. There's tragedy everyday, everywhere. Everyone is dealing with their own battles, and we are collectively mourning. Please be kind to each other. It's not that hard.
Pakistan's government is employing invasive
#surveillance
technology that can seriously infringe people's right to privacy once the pandemic is over. Pay attention now.
A thread.
You're not being helpful to anyone if you're judging people for not having same awareness/skills as you do. You're just being entitled yourself. Help of this type should be offered w kindness & w/o any judgement, & if you can't be kind then you might as well shouldn't offer help.
Important study on inequality that visa processes project. In 2023, Pakistanis paid £5.3M in rejected UK visa applications.
The demand that you must spend $$$ to apply for visas that cost $$$ w no guarantee of approval is racist & colonial. Visa discrimination needs to end.
The staggering costs of visa inequality🚨
In 2023 rejected EU visas cost the world’s poorest €100M +, 💰 flowing from poor to rich countries, like a 'reverse remittance'.
Yet we never hear about this🤨
I talked to
@euobs
based on latest LAGO analysis
The month of Ramzan is divided into three parts (10 days each), called ashra; each has its own blessings.
Ashra 1: Mercy
Ashra 2: Forgiveness
Ashra 3: Safety (from hellfire)
And all of these maulvis inciting violence in this month will InshaAllah not receive any of the three.
Okay. What on earth is going on in Pakistan?
"Ghustako ke saar kat ke rakh denge musalman
Toheen e risaalat ki agar koi karega
hum uske shab-o-roz jala dalenge zinda"
Host who's just heard this: Subhan Allah
For a country that claims to be the protector of women's honour under the guise of religiosity, this state really loves to ridicule women in ways never seen before. Truly a shameful and disgusting move to put a woman's private life and her dignity under public scrutiny.
Every single day is a struggle for women in Pakistan. Their own "chaar dewari" is not safe for them, and men still have the audacity to demand not being called out. Yes all men are abusers, yes all men are murderers, harassers. Yes, women are unsafe around you!
Will never not be mad about the fact that men can just hop on public transport any time of the day (and night) and save money, and also not have an ounce of fear for their safety. Meanwhile I paid 500 rs for a 4 km ride today, while having a friend live-track the route.
Had to go to a wedding close to Avari, 4.5kms from my house. Careem was at least Rs450, but impossible to get a car. The closest one was at least 20 mins away. Guess how I got there.
Next time, please speak when your partnership with a genocide enabler is revoked. You can't shake hands with the oppressors and then claim to be on the side of the oppressed. This is literally not how it works.
Nikahnama is a contract between two consenting adults who agree on terms to sign in the contract, and take out/cross anything that they don't want. This has been happening decades, if not centuries. The addition of the new oath shouldn't and must not be treated differently.
- Starting w the process of passing the law: No one has seen the officially passed law. We got a copy titled "Final Draft" with no date through sources in media.
Laws that are passed behind closed doors are always intended to stifle civil liberties & never in favour of citizens.
What you're experiencing right now is a result of Zuckerberg's obsession w killing competition by buying it out. This will continue to happen until Facebook continues to own all major communication apps. Facebook is too big to be handled even by itself, & it must be broken down.
Fiza is probably unaware that Afghan women can't acquire education, can't earn for themselves, can't leave the house or show their face on the internet, like Fiza is conveniently doing, without hijab. But Fiza thinks a separate shopping mall is very progressive. Logout, Fiza.
DHA residents protested this chaos last year, and the faujis filed FIR against all of them. The embezzlement of billions of tax money collected from the same residents by these people is insane. And if this country wasn't owned by these faujis, I'd have suggested accountability.
And a woman who could not produce 4 witnesses was charged for zina. Logic was lost on people in the 80s, it is lost on them in 2021. Don't be surprised if you start getting reports of a lot of women and children going missing and then found dead because rapists will kill them 2/2
My late grandfather who was the most active young political activist & mobiliser during partition, called me up two weeks before being admitted to the hospital, & said he regretted supporting formation of Pakistan. This man was a patriot all his life, and this country broke him.
The information is partly correct. Let me break it down below;
Stopncii is a project backed by Meta, & operated by
@RPhelpline
(supported by UK Home Office). The website is legit and is a step in the right direction.
🧵
Many use VPNs so snooping govts & their depts cant snoop on their comms/browsing. VPNs protect human rights defenders, journalists, dissidents & regular people from authoritarian regimes and abuse of laws. PTA demanding VPNs to be registered will lead to violation of privacy.
@ibakarachi
IBA is only protecting sexual harassers that will enable more people to create the campus unsafe for others. This is shameful, and the institution does not deserve any respect for being the facilitator of abusers through so-called disciplinary rules and policies
I was crossing the street at Liberty Market in Lahore when a man stopped his car to ask if I wanted to come with him for the night.
Another man tucked a paper in my bag with his number on it. He came that close to me.
As I ate dinner alone in a cafe, a man ogled me constantly.
this is so disgusting, it’s crazy bc this is what we really deal wit. i really want y’all men to take perspective of this. can never go home or anywhere without being cat called or followed.
When I say I'm scared to leave my house, that I'm scared for my sisters, mother, friends, every woman when they leave their house, I'm not exaggerating.
This incident happened ~10 minutes from where I live, and this is supposed to be a "safe area".
What even is safe for women?
- Riddled with ambiguous terms like "vital interests", "legitimate interests", "national security", the law is pretty interesting.
- S.7(1)(i) that says if a person fails to provide mandatory data to data controller demanding that data, the person will face "consequences".
Until now, I was waiting to confirm this before making any claims. And now when I have confirmed on my end, here's a short thread on how Telenor Pakistan is potentially scamming people.
Note: I've nothing against Telenor & I'm a loyal user!
The Lahore High Court just ruled that analysis of mobile phone data without court order is unconstitutional, and hence illegal.
The court said that mobile phone is like a home of the person, and right to privacy in home in a fundamental right (A.14).
The law that's supposed to protect your data punishes you if you wish to protect your data (and yourself). A recent Lahore High Court judgement can give some perspective into what this means for your privacy. See here:
The Lahore High Court just ruled that analysis of mobile phone data without court order is unconstitutional, and hence illegal.
The court said that mobile phone is like a home of the person, and right to privacy in home in a fundamental right (A.14).
A lot of people don't know this, but when you make abortion illegal, you're only making safe abortion illegal. There will continue to be unsafe abortions which risk women's lives, and that's on those who illegalize it and those who support the illegality.
Ironic that NADRA talks about security when its data has been subjected to unauthorised access multiple times and citizens' personal data as collected by NADRA is dumped on random websites in plain text. Maybe focus on that security before policing women's agency?
@yougoglencocco
It is one of the security features to guard family data from unauthorised access.
In order to maintain the integrity of family data,
@NadraPak
informs every family head about any processing through which someone becomes part of his family. 1/
This is what good leadership looks like - knowing when to step down and making way for others.
Send this to every Pakistani politician you know who has played with the country and its people for far too long just so they could get or keep holding on to power.
PSA for people looking for internships: never work for free. Never opt for umpaid internships. Your time and efforts are valuable. Ask for a fair compensation.
Exposure doesn't pay bills.
Not everything is a discourse. Most of the times, it's a good thing to be happy and uncritically over-excited for someone who shares their happiness with others.
@Hafsa_Khawaja
No of course not. My irritation is with the uncritical over-excitement at the news that a young woman decided to get contractually hitched to a man. It's fine if it makes her happy, but my question is why is everyone else so happy about it?
Disrupting internet services in times of political instability is only a sign of a scared & lost authority. Access to information and freedom of expression are every person's fundamental rights, &
#InternetShutdowns
(complete or partial) are violation of those rights.
#KeepItOn
Wondering why people want to procreate anymore? Is there a legit reason apart from continuing the bloodline? Because the world is moving towards its painful end, and putting another human on the path of wars, global warming, diseases & general uncertainty makes it very confusing.
Half of the people on the table, including the PM, Bill Gates, Fawad Chaudhry, Asad Umer, are looking in the direction of the Schrodinger's DG ISI who is not in the photo but is still in the photo.
Have some shame, Zardari! Live in a house that your family hasn't illegally occupied, & live like a regular person in Karachi who loses everything because your family filled its own pockets w taxes that should have been spent on making efficient drainage system in the city.
Most developed cities (across the world!) have flooded over the years due to
#ClimateChange
resulting in unprecedented rain.
#Karachi
is no exception & just broke its own record (more accurate to say floods).
#PPP
Sindh gov was on site 24/7 (rain needs to stop before clearing)
Zahir Jaffer presented before district court a few minutes ago. While talking to media, he said, “I’m an American citizen, not a Pakistani. My lawyer will tell you if there is anything.”
Please also don't judge, scrutinise or criticise how women deal w the tragedy of living in this country & the violence that men inflict on them. Let them cry on camera, let them share their grief, let them be quiet or loud or composed. They won't grieve the way you like them to.
Has taylor swift finally used her privilege and voice against israeli genocide? Has she finally stopped taking 3 minute flights in her private jet? Why are so many folks who post 10 tweets about falasteen & 2 think pieces a week on environment at her concert? What did I miss?
Amazing news coming from
#Indonesia
where the court has found President & the Minister of Comms guilty for violating the law re
#InternetShutdown
in Papua and West Papua in 2019.
Internet is a basic right, & should be open for everyone! Great victory
@safenetvoice
#KeepItOn
If only the PTI lot followed feminists & feminist collectives w intentions beyond hatred for not idealising Imran Khan for his sexist existence, they'd know that feminists have repeatedly spoken up for PTI women's protection of rights. Pls look beyond your hatred.
For those wondering about the silence of Pakistani feminists and human rights champs in Iddat case and others, they have made it clear that any women linked to the PTI and to Imran Khan (politically or personally) are not the "right kind of victims" and cannot "claim victimhood".
Also, Aurat march does not tell attendees what to say or what not to mention on their placards. Every person comes with a belief that they have a voice, and that they matter, their issues and experiences matter.
Tone policing hamara tareeqa nahi. Hum tone police k victim hain.
Someone took the mic and said, "I speak for everyone in this space," and went on to praise him. Some of us are not his fans, so as a rule, maybe just speak for yourself next time.
Somewhere a white woman is packing her bags to visit Pakistan on a state/establishment funded trip to show pOsiTiVe iMagE oF pAKisTaN while local women are treated like an object or just pieces of meat trying not to be groped by pEaCeFuL rELiGi0uS mEN.
"Unethical ring to provide academic assistance"??? Is LUMS ok? This is what this country considers the best school? The school that is scared of students giving tuition?
LUMS just expelled another student in a DC hearing because he gives tuitions and they assumed that he is running unethical ring to provide academic assistance. He was an NOP last semester, few years ago a student committed suicide in a simar case. we haven't forgotten Ubaid.
We have been warning people to take their digital security very seriously for years, because we saw how serious the implications can get. We were called alarmist, and were told to not scare people off the internet. I'm seeing so many stories of how random men have stalked
@jessdheere
And they are deliberately super expensive so a) the test companies keep making money like you said, and b) access to better academic opportunities is limited to only those who can afford them. Where should smart people with no money go? Even scholarships don't cover this cost.
@Nanjala1
I'm in Karachi, Pakistan. And this happens at the first drop of the rain. Sometimes, only the forecast of the rain is enough for electricity to go out.
- This is IMPORTANT: The law enables citizens to withdraw consent to process or collect more data at any point but does not say how and what will be the conditions.
In previous drafts, there was a lengthy process of submitting application+fee when withdrawing consent (contd.)
#JunaidHafeez
handed down death sentence in blasphemy case. Junaid Hafeez is a Pakistani university lecturer and accused of blasphemy under Pakistan's broad blasphemy laws. Hafeez was arrested in 2013 and held in solitary confinement since 2014.
#JusticeForJunaidHafeez
- The law says data controller & processor will notify in writing to citizens about data collection, processing, purpose, sharing etc.
This just means that you'll have to read Terms of Services before you agree to them.
Good rule of thumb is to accept that if something has not happened to you does not mean it has not happened to anyone at all. If the man has not sexually assaulted you, does not mean he has not sexually assaulted someone else.
It's also good for men to shut up when women speak.
@HouseJudiciary
Zia Chishti is the most graceful, polite and humble CEO, I have met him personally as well. Fully dedicated to his work. Very sensible and honest individual.
This culture of false accusations has to stop.
Glassdoor:
It's like this is the first time you're hearing about it. PTA acquired WMS and broke the internet trying to execute it when PTI was in govt. We raised this and many other issues constantly, and it was clearly a non-issue then. Why is it an issue now when you're not ruling? :)
So PTA it seems has acquired WMS system (web management system) from a Canadian firm Sandvine. This software enables PTA to practically snoop in on all digital communications at a very granular level. PTA has been using this Sandvine software to block YouTube when IK is live.
PSA:
My friend
@aeskriv
has put all of
#Churails
episodes, in HD, with subtitles here:
If anyone wants to watch, feel free to. Pass the word around, if you want.
Bollywood is now all about stealing and ruining Pakistani classics (case in point) or ruining old bollywood classics. Hope the industry collapses for the ridiculous "art" that it's producing now.
How about, next time you break your bro-code and actually call your friend out when he makes rape jokes, harasses women, ogles them, makes the world unsafe in whatever way they (and you) do?
How about next time you don't say, "I don't involve in this" and "to each their own"?
The use of terminology that is non-Muslim needs to end in Pakistan.
Anyone who isn't Muslim has their own religion that has a name independent of Muslim association. Would you appreciate being called non-Christian, non-Hindu or non-Jew in countries where Muslims are in minority?
Stop glorifying struggles of people, and failures of the government to provide basic infrastructure to residents. If anything, this photo is a million dollar worth of chamaat on the face of authorities.
Internet shutdowns & censorship have never helped restore peace in any geography, rather escalated the situation in addition to disproportionately impacting people's livelihood. So many who wfh are losing work as
#Pakistan
's economy continues to worsen.
#RestoreInternetNow
So the apartheid state targeted civilians (war crime), denied medical assistance (war crime), then allowed paramedics into the areas it bombed, only to kill them too (war crime). How does any person with conscience not find it inhumane? How are you supporting Israel?!