Isn't Asking Women Not To Use Their Photo As DP Curbing Their Freedom?

Tamil Nadu State Commission for Women Chairperson AS Kumari advised women not to use their photos as display pictures on social media as they could be used for morphing by cyber criminals.

AS Kumari was speaking at a seminar on women’s rights and empowerment on Wednesday, organised jointly by Tamil Nadu and the National Women’s Commissions at the Communicable Diseases Hospital. The TNSCW Chairperson stated that they have been taking various initiatives in the past few months to spread awareness among women, including conducting seminars on women’s safety in cyberspace.

Women Asked Not To Use Their Photo On DP

In her advice to college students who are vulnerable to crime on social media platforms after responding to messages from unknown people and developing a relationship with them, AS Kumari notes that they need to remain cautious as technology can be both good and evil.

She told students not to keep their photos as the 'display picture' for cybercriminals might morph them. She added that while falling in love is an individual’s right, they need to be cautious and choose the right person.

AS Kumari shared that they had conducted similar sessions in Coimbatore and Trichy as well and received good feedback. She highlighted the importance of such seminars in today’s age and spoke about the great Indian leaders who framed several laws for the welfare of women. She also said that the initiatives aimed to discuss women's rights and women’s empowerment.

Taking about the number of complaints the Women’s Commission received against crime against women, she revealed that many women are still hesitant to come forward, and she encouraged women to not be afraid and approach the commission for any issue. She further assured them that their identity would be protected and action would be taken against the complaint immediately with police assistance.

How is curbing women's freedom empowering?

While conducting seminars aimed at empowering women and educating them on cyber safety measures is necessary, isn’t asking women not to use their photos on their own social media handles an infringement of their basic rights? Why should women refrain from posting photos on social media just because cyber criminals are at large? Should the commission be focusing on coming up with measures to curb cybercrime instead of restricting women? How is curbing women’s freedom empowering?

Rather than asking women not to post their photos on their social media display pictures, the commission and the cyber department should come up with ways to ensure that the photos can't be accessed at random. Several OTT platforms don't allow taking screenshots or snipping images. Having that kind of lock on photos on social media be better than asking women not to post their photos?

What Can Be Done Instead?

Besides, true women's empowerment means equipping women to handle any kind of distressing situation, including cyberspace harassment. Women need to be told that it’s neither their fault nor something to be ashamed of if random creeps get access to their photos, morph them, and misuse them. Women should be encouraged to deal with blackmail and threats boldly and efficiently, rather than being intimidated by perpetrators.

Ensuring women’s safety in cyberspace should be focused on tightening cyber security so criminals cannot breach it. When criminals can come up with several cyber harassment techniques to assault women, shouldn’t the authorities have access to better resources to ensure safety in cyberspace?

Also, with the growing technological developments, stricter laws devoid of loopholes should be implemented to swiftly nab and punish cyber criminals. Isn’t that how the system is supposed to ensure women’s safety? How is controlling women even remotely close to empowering them?

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Views expressed by the author are their own