In a world where digital life intertwines with reality, maintaining privacy and protecting it has become crucial, yet complex at the same time. Many Iraqi women today face threats and challenges in cyberspace, where their rights are violated and their images and videos are shared without permission, leading to catastrophic consequences for their personal and social lives.
A Celebration Turned into a Nightmare:
Hanin Murad (a pseudonym upon her request), 22 years old, recently celebrated her graduation from university surrounded by joy with her friends. The moment was emotional and special for her, just like it is for any graduate on such a memorable day. However, Hanin didn’t know that her joy would turn into a nightmare when she decided, during the celebration, to post some short videos with her friends during the festivities and dancing on social media platforms. These joyful moments quickly turned into a crisis when the video was taken from her personal account and re-shared on the TikTok app without her consent. The video went viral, reaching over half a million views just hours after it was posted, and thus the video, which was supposed to capture a personal happy moment, became subject to criticism and abuse. This escalated into personal threats against Hanin, caused by a lack of understanding of digital privacy and the widespread spontaneity in the digital space in sharing content.
Societal Challenges and Personal Threats:
In a conservative society, the digital violence that Hanin and her friends experienced not only threatened their reputations but also their relationships with their families and the community around them. For them, the fear of scandal was greater than anything else, as if the problem wasn’t just the digital assault but also the dangerous social and familial repercussions they could face, especially in a society that treats such matters with extreme sensitivity.
As the videos rapidly spread, the situation became unbearable. Even Hanin’s family, whom she describes as “understanding,” was in a state of panic, fearing the severe social consequences that could result from the release of this kind of video.
What exacerbated Hanin’s panic was that the friend who appeared in the video came from a family she described as “harsh.” Hanin recalls, “It could even lead to murder if this video reaches my friend’s family. And I would be to blame because I posted the video, exposing my friend’s life to danger.”
Rapid Response and Cooperation Between Institutions:
After the videos spread widely, Hanin tried to resolve the issue through official and legal means. She contacted all the official organizations involved in combating blackmail to report what had happened to her. However, this approach forced her and her friends to go to court and file a lawsuit against the video poster, which was not considered a solution due to existing social taboos that blame the victim. Moreover, this method would open the door for communication between families, complicating the issue even further, as Hanin described.
As a result, Hanin resorted to direct communication with the person who posted the video, sending people he knew to convince him to delete the video, explaining to him the legal consequences of not removing the video. However, these attempts were unsuccessful and opened the door to blackmail. The video poster demanded that she send him “credit” (a phone recharge card) in exchange for deleting the video. Hanin sent the credit, thinking it would help the authorities locate him quickly, but this didn’t happen. However, the blackmailer hid the video for a few hours.
After a brief respite, Hanin discovered that the video had been re-posted the next morning, bringing back her anxiety and fear of the continued consequences, especially in a society that monitors every move she makes. Even after the story reached the Iraqi Ministry of Interior, there was no tangible or real solution, and it remained tied to Hanin and her friends needing to go to court to file a complaint against the person. As previously mentioned, this was difficult, which led her to eventually seek help from the “INSM” Digital Rights Foundation on the advice of a friend to receive immediate support and help in removing the video permanently from all platforms.
Here, “INSM” received Hanin’s case and its details, and as a human rights and digital privacy advocate, the foundation, in partnership with TikTok, took initial action by detailing the case in a report that included the details of the posted videos and the offensive comments along with translations. This report was then submitted to TikTok, which facilitated the platform’s decision to remove the post and ban the account that blackmailed Hanin and her friends, permanently closing it.
Shared Success and a Broader Message:
This story highlights the importance of respecting women’s digital rights and reminds us of the need to enhance their protection in cyberspace. As Hanin’s case revealed, dealing with such situations is not only about quick responses when incidents occur but also requires ongoing efforts in awareness and education on how to handle similar situations. It is essential to empower women with the knowledge needed to protect themselves from the increasing digital threats in this age.
Given that this situation was fraught with fears and hesitations about contacting official authorities or completing the procedures related to the complaint, government institutions involved should respond in a way that doesn’t exacerbate the problem, ensuring the victim’s privacy and resolving the issue quietly, considering the social and tribal barriers that stand in the way.
At “INSM,” we believe that every user, whether male or female, should be able to use the internet freely and safely without the fear of digital threats or social consequences. This story serves as a starting point for us to encourage any victim who is subjected to any form of digital violation to reach out and seek help, so we can stand by them within the capabilities that the foundation and its partners can offer to protect privacy and reduce the risks caused by digital violations, ensuring a safe internet for all.
Steps to reach out to INSM Digital Emergency Helpdesk
Report@insm-iq.org
WhatsApp: +9647835882244