Throughout the month of March, the Enheduanna blog invited frequent contributors to reflect on this year’s International Women’s Day theme, “For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.” Forthcoming contributions range from reflections on the involvement of youth in the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda to the role of education in empowering the new generations of leaders. It is the next generation of women leaders that can realize “a feminist future where no one is left behind.” 

This blog honors Enheduanna, the world’s first woman poet and author from the 23rd century BC, by providing a space for diverse women contributors from the Middle East and North Africa region to voice their thoughts. With the social media platforms many of us use removing key safety protections and increasing gender backlash across the world, this blog offers a much-needed space for expression. In an increasingly digital world, it also becomes necessary to ensure women leaders of all ages can engage in online public spaces—without fear of violence. While civil society initiatives are plenty, it will take the creative involvement of multiple stakeholders to ensure that women remain active participants in public life.  

Offline consequences  

Women and other gender minorities online are disproportionately subject to harassment, stalking, hate speech, revenge pornography, and exploitation. The available data from 51 countries shows that up to 38% of women and 58% of young women and girls have experienced online violence themselves and 85% of women have witnessed online violence. As such, it is evident that TF-GBV is not the work of a few ‘bad apples’ but rather is pervasive and systemic.  

The consequences of TF-GBV are not benign, and TF-GBV does not stay online. The violence that women and other gender minorities are subject to online follows them into their day-to-day lives. It causes severe harm to psychological and social wellbeing as well as personal safety and may even cause legal and economic issues.  

In Yemen, for instance, there were 115 cases of online blackmail from January 2023 to April 2024 as recorded by the Yemeni Organization for Development and Exchange of Technology, and a local Yemeni digital rights organization SANAD said they received at least four cases of online blackmail per day—the vast majority of which came from women. One of the survivors of TF-GBV in Yemen told Amnesty International: “He [the blackmailer] created Facebook pages and posted my pictures and fabricated pictures. From that day, my life was completely destroyed. I started psychological treatment and of course, my relationship with my husband’s family, my family and most of my friends was destroyed. I did not go back to my job… I became an outcast from society and my career that I built for 11 years was destroyed.”  

Enheduanna contributor and scholar Bassant Hassib explained that in extreme cases online violence can lead directly to suicide: “In Egypt, two girls committed suicide in 2021 and 2022: one had her phone hacked and doctored photos of her were posted online, while the other was blackmailed by neighbors with fabricated images.” TF-GBV can be deadly.  

Many, including myself at times, have chosen to disengage from these platforms out of fear of this online violence. As such, TF-GBV also has profound political implications: it causes self-censorship and may even cause women and other gender minorities to completely disengage from civic spaces and participation.  

In MENA, women journalists often face this online violence. Lebanese Al Jazeera journalist Ghada Oueiss faced a state-led smear campaign in the form of online harassment by bots. The International Center for Journalists found that 34% of the abuse directed at Oueiss was sexist, misogynistic, or sexually explicit. Oueiss was also subject to image-based abuse after having private images stolen from her phone. “The systematic campaign of bullying and harassment together, you feel it like a wave hitting every woman who dares to get out a taboo or challenge a tradition or just speak out,” said journalist Zeina Erhaim in an interview with MEP Director Merissa Khurma.  

Preventing digital violence  

On the one hand, there are some government-led efforts to increase access to digital spaces while curbing TF-GBV. The Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government are, for instance, strengthening the complaint mechanisms and legal protections for survivors and preventative measures. Additionally, the UAE Gender Balance Council, along with the Global Council for Sustainable Development Goal 5 and the consultancy firm Kearney, released “Gender-Based Violence Policy Guidelines” and called on technology companies to address TF-GBV with measures including defining TF-GBV, strengthening reporting mechanisms and support resources, training for professionals, and continuously updating guidelines, among others.  

On the other, technology companies are loosening their regulation of online speech. Most recently, META announced that they are removing content moderators and other filters, which may result in an increase in various forms of TF-GBV. Some users already struggle to access the complaint mechanism that social media platforms set up in order to report or remove abusive and violent content. With looser restrictions, a narrower focus on addressing complaints, and the incorporation of generative AI, the future of these platforms as beacons of free expression is in jeopardy.  

A coordinated effort by all stakeholders—national and regional governments, technology companies, and civil society—to address TF-GBV as a systemic issue that is centered around harm reduction could make these spaces more inclusive, equitable, and democratic by design. This could take the form of creatively using technology itself to mitigate harm and strengthen civil society programming. TrollWall, for instance, is a software that uses AI technology to facilitate content moderation. The software is now being tested in Latin America, using real-time, Spanish-language content moderation to block online violence against women politicians.  

The same technology that many have weaponized to target and silence women can also be used to uplift them. Having principled actors and clear frameworks for the responsible use of technology can foster online spaces that are not only accessible to all but equitable to all—where women can thrive and become active participants in all facets of public life.  

“O winged Lady, 

Like a bird 

You scavenge the land. 

Like a charging storm 

You charge, 

Like a roaring storm 

You roar, 

You thunder in thunder, 

Snort in rampaging winds. 

Your feet are continually restless. 

Carrying your harp of sighs, 

You breathe out the music of mourning.”  

— Enheduanna, from The Hymn to Inanna, translated by Jane Hirshfield 

The views represented in this piece are those of the author and do not express the official position of the Wilson Center.