In our day and age, cyberspace remains the most promising outlet for the exercise of the most elemental of all our rights: the right to free expression. At little cost and with much more freedom than is possible in the real world, the internet provides a space for one of the most profound expressions of our humanity: the need to speak out. One unique aspect of the internet is that it can be a great equaliser, connecting beyond the traditional divides of power, money, class, race, gender, religion, thus making it possible for us to interact, like never before possible and to build virtual communities of citizens engaged in conversations about things that truly matter to the future of their community, their nation, their planet.
The internet’s existence is an expression of its apparently decentralised and unregulated nature. However time and again, governments and authoritative bodies have endeavoured to censor and regulate cyberspace in accordance to the officially approved moral and political standards. Proponents of free speech in cyberspace have criticised such measures, underlining the inefficacy of conventional censorship paradigms normally used to monitor and control the flow of information in traditional mediums, in cyberspace.
Yet states, particularly some repressive regimes, continue to explore and appropriate the net’s ability to censor and stifle reform and debate. A recent report by human rights group, Reporters Sans Frontiers labelled 13 countries as the ‘Enemies of the internet’ on account of their attempts to suppress freedom of expression on the internet. Although Pakistan is not included in this list, yet the country has had its share of random websites being banned by the government.
Full article available at GenderIT.org
Reba Shahid 