Take Back The Tech is a collaborative campaign which takes place during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence (25 Nov - 10 Dec). Its goal is to promote ICT to end violence against women. In Pakistan, P@SH@- Pakistan Software Houses Association- is taking the initiative forward and have already launched the campaign on various online platforms.

Jehan Ara, President of P@sh@, initiated the campaign after holding a small meetup with bloggers to help find ways in which the campaign could be beneficial. On her blog  In the Line Of Wire, Jehan shares details of the campaign and ways in which people can help collaborate.

From 25 November to 10 December, get ready to click your mouse, flex your SMS fingers and engage full energy to take control of technology to end violence against women. PC’s Women’s Programme calls on users of the radio, television, internet,
emails and mobile phones to Take Back the Tech!

Meanwhile Jehan also launched the campaign on Twitter which has received an overwhelming response from men and women alike.

jehan_ara: Let us discuss what legislation exist to fight Violence against Women using ICT and whether they need to be changed/reviewed #takebackthetech

rai_azlan It is well-known that violence often ends when others intervene. #takebackthetech

faisalkapadia: FOR THE WOMEN OF PAKISTAN lets put an end to domestic violence against them #TBTT

Fariha Akthar at Far Quest shared announced the online campaign in a post:

I devoted most of my free time today in attempting to TBTT….yes to “Take Back The Tech!” and it’s going to be so at least till the next 16 days. [..]

We here in Pakistan have planned to run the local TBTT Campaign.(..) We have laid down a basic day-to-day activities plan as well that we will follow mainly to create awareness about female harassment issues and sharing tips on how to fight back this menace.

Rai Azlan at “My land Pakistan” blog discussed the need to highlight incidents of violence against women.

Living in a male dominated society I sometimes  consider myself superior over the opposite gender, it might be the influence of the overall social air. However I believe that superiority comes with responsibility and one can only be superior if the entire obligation toward him is being fulfilled.

[..] As soon as I got to know the importance and the aim behind this campaign I felt like it might be the way I can try to fulfill my responsibility.

Teabreak, Pakistan's largest Blog aggregator, announced its support for the campaign, calling all bloggers to join in and spread the word. Teabreak is home to over 1200 registered bloggers across Pakistan. Taking up the initiative will help amplify it to a larger audience. More support poured in when “The Laid Back Show“, hosted by renowned bloggers Awab Alvi and Faisal Kapadia, dedicated an entire episode to the campaign in order to help spread awareness and gather more support.

The campaign has triggered debate over the use of social media tools and has discussed cases of online harassment. Lets hope that this initiative culminates into a more powerful campaign to combat violence against women- a campaign that is not limited to 16-days but will last till the percentage of women facing violence declines appreciably.

26/11. Image by Flickr user -g-r-a-c-e-. Used under a Creative Commons License

One year ago, Mumbai, India's financial and entertainment capital came under a well-coordinated terrorist attack that lasted for 3 days. Downtown Mumbai, or “town” as it is popularly known was the target of 10 young men who reportedly arrived by boats from Pakistan and attacked the railway station, the main artery for commuters and a series of luxury hotels, a popular bar and a Jewish home. At least 200 people died in the attack and at least 308 people were injured. All but one young Pakistani attackers survived. That lone survivor Kasab is in India and has been the primary source of information about the attack. Nobody has claimed the body of the 9 young men, who launched the attack and paralysed Mumbai.

Only one word, fear! Collage by Flickr user Keerthi. Used under a Creative Commons License

For three days people around the world witnessed the brutal carnage unfold on their television sets. In hindsight it appears that the 10 young men were receiving instructions from a source in Pakistan on how to execute the attack.

Earlier today on the eve of the first anniversary of 26/11 the Government of Pakistan announced that it has charged seven suspects for organizing the attack. The seven arrested men have not pleaded guilty to the charge according to reports.

Madhavi at The Trajectory blog writes that Pakistan's actions comes after a year of “vehement denial” of the attacks. She continues:

“The most high profile name among those charged is Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, head of the banned militant group Laskar-e-Taiba.”

Madhavi's post has an interesting twist in the end when she asks:

“Pakistan has handed India an anniversary gift for 26/11 in the form of Lakhvi & company’s verdict; the people of India are still hoping to receive forgotten anniversary gifts. March 13th 1993, December 13th 2001, July 11th 2006, November 26th 2008…how many more strikes do we need before even a single mastermind of these terrorist attacks is punished by the Government of India?”

Nita at A Wide Angle View of India wonders why are the foot soldiers (the Mumbai police) being blamed for doing an effective job in staving off the attack? It is not the foot soldiers that need to be blamed, but the top politicians and security folks of Mumbai. She writes:

“So many died in vain, but not a single person has taken responsibility for the carnage. We need to mourn the dead, but we also need to ask for the answers. It is the top cops and the politicians who are to blame. For the lack of coordination and action. It is really pathetic and in really bad taste to see television channels blast the foot soldiers. Try and shame those poor unequipped men who had rifles that were rusted, men who ran helter skelter because they had no leader to direct them. Men who weren’t even sure where the terrorists were, how many there were, what they were up to. […]

The foot soldiers in Mumbai had nothing. If some of them ran, let us not blame them.”

While there were lots of articles written and many recommendations made in the immediate aftermath of 26/11 not much progress has happened, writes Filter Coffee. He writes:

“Sadly, barring a few cosmetic rearrangements, not much has changed in India, and no one, least of all Mumbaikars seem to care.”

Nyaypati Gautam of India Story appears to echo the feelings of Filter Coffee about the lack of change in the past year. But, he wonders what it is that he can do to bring about some change? He writes:

“We continue to be as apathetic as before. If any terror strike were to happen today I fear that the same things would get re-enacted. I hope I have got it wrong but I have a dirty feeling that I am not. It is so frustrating. What can I do to channelise this anger in a meaningful way?”

Many people used Twitter to share news and express their opinions. Here are a few examples of those messages:

RodrigoRMorais: USA Today is saying “Mumbai commemorates one-year anniversary of terror attacks”. What is there to commemorate about?

aniljayakumar: A minute for Mumbai………….

NitinNDTV: all of us will forever remember 26/11,but let's not forget victims of earlier attacks & the brave men who continue to die in defending India

madhavgk: Politicians abused after 26/11 last year… politicians abused after 26/11 this year… nothing changes in Indian politics!

nsohanlal: 26/11 Jingoism on twitter today… Alas will be forgotten as a mundane Monday come Sunday!