News: Pakistan releases new kind of superhero in Burka Avenger, a defender of 'justice, peace and education for all' via using Freedom of Expression - Social Media and Internet

BY NINA GOLGOWSKI / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Dressed almost like a ninja, the trail-blazing cartoon is a school teacher who fights thugs and corrupt politicians who would keep girls from school. The show it is set to air in 60 countries and be translated into 18 languages, including English and French.

BURKA AVENGER/VIA FACEBOOK

Jiya, a Sharif Muslim school teacher, suits up to resemble a kind of ninja when she assumes her secret identity of the Pakistani Burka Avenger.

Evil-doers beware: Pakistan has unleashed a new kind of superhero who's being called the country's very own Wonder Woman.

Fighting under the cover of a black, flowing burka, this captivating action figure called the Burka Avenger unleashes powerful ninja moves that defend "justice, peace and education for all."

Aired for the first time last month, the inspiring Urdu-language cartoon series from the creation of Pakistani pop star Haroon Rashid is blazing a trail.

"She doesn't punch. She doesn't hit, she doesn't kick, she doesn't shoot anybody, all she does is clonk people on the heads with books or throw pens," Rashid told CBS. "So there's an underlying message with that - the importance of education — and the pen is mightier than the sword."

The hit show follows Jiya, a Sharif Muslim school teacher by day turned Burka Avenger by night.

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According to Rashid her outfit is a choice, with Jiya choosing to not cover herself while serving as a school teacher. But when becomes her secret counterpart, the only parts of her that show are her eyes and fingers - like a kind of cape-wearing ninja.

BURKA AVENGER/VIA FACEBOOK

Jiya/Burka Avenger clonks people on the head with books and throws pen — emphasizing the importance of education for all.

"She is modest and hiding identity when fighting thugs," according to the program's Facebook page. "We did not want her dressed half-naked like most western superheroes because she is a Muslim superhero."

With the help of three school children, Jiya stands up to these thugs and corrupt politicians who are seen trying to prevent young girls from getting an education.

"What business do women have with education?" one villain says in an episode while attempting to close down a school. "They should stay at home, washing, scrubbing and cleaning, toiling in the kitchen."

It may sound far-fetched to those fortunate enough to benefit from a public education system and healthy democracy, but it is a modern-day battle in many parts of the world that has led to bloodshed and destruction.

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Taliban militants have taken responsibility for blowing up hundreds of schools and preventing thousands of girls from going to school in Pakistan's northwest.

Nearly half of Pakistan's children are not enrolled in primary school, including nearly three quarters of young girls, according to the United Nations and 2012 government statistics.

BURKA AVENGER/VIA YOUTUBE

Pakistani pop star Haroon Rashid is not only the creator behind the new hit Urdu-language series but performs the theme song as well, as seen in the music video here.

Literacy rate among children is extremely low.

Rashid had been working on the cartoon program for two years when 15-year-old education activist, Malala Yousafzai, was critically shot in the head by Taliban gunmen while riding a school bus in October.

"I had never heard of Malala before then," Rashid told AFP. "It was like life was imitating what was on our screen while we were developing."

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Malala, who Rashid refers to as a "real-life superhero," survived the attack and delivered a speech at the UN in New York in July.

Since the program's release last month, it is set to air in 60 countries and be translated into 18 languages, including English and French.

Its success has been overwhelming, according to Rashid.

"The reception has been absolutely phenomenal, beyond our expectations," he told AFP. "We were making this little animated TV series for Pakistan but it seems like the whole world wants to know about the Burka Avenger."

Source: ngolgowski@nydailynews.com

On a mobile device? Watch the video story here or the music video here

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/superhero-burka-avenger-defends-education-article-1.1418636#ixzz2bGUF3Xvh

Social Media: Facebook: Limiting access to social media can restrict freedom of speech

Kim Arora, TNN Aug 1, 2013, 08.36PM IST

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(Facebook has argued that…)

NEW DELHI: In its counter-affidavit to the PIL in the Delhi high court, Facebook has argued that limiting access to social media can limit an individual's freedom of speech and expression. The PIL, among other things, deals with the issue of minors accessing Facebook services, arguing that under the Indian Contract Act 1872, minors can't enter into a contract. The PIL will be heard next on Friday.

Last year, the UN Human Rights Council had passed a resolution declaring access to Internet as a human right. Facebook has argued making a similar point for access to social media. "The Internet is increasingly becoming a platform for citizens including minors to interact and voice their opinions and, therefore, a meaningful interpretation of the right to freedom of speech and expression would include the freedom to access social media," the counter-affidavit says.

"It can be argued that in a technologically mediated society, social media and communication infrastructure is essential to exercise freedom of expression," says Sunil Abraham, director, Bangalore-based Center for Internet and Society.

Cyber lawyer Pavan Duggal sees it as "hyperbole". "The issue still remains that a minor doesn't have the capacity to act under the Contract Act," he says. Lawyers say that if a contract is entered into for free service in exchange of personal information, it is a "consideration" (like cash or kind) under the Indian Contract Act 1872. The Act says, "All agreements are contracts if they are made by the free consent of parties competent to contract, for a lawful consideration and with a lawful object, and are not hereby expressly declared to be void." It then lists minors as incompetent to contract, and says, "The agreement, if any party is minor, is void ab initio." However, Abraham points out that "It is not an offence to enter a void contract."

To weed out fake profiles and children's profiles, the PIL, filed by former RSS ideologue K N Govindacharya, argues that "obligation is cast upon Facebook and other social networking sites to verify the authenticity of each and every subscribers (sic) which is mandatory for Mobile companies in telecommunication sector.

Mumbai-based professor of law Saurav Datta feels this sort of authentication could have serious privacy implications. "There is no way they can verify users without impinging on their privacy. The goal of the PIL is wrong. We need to protect children, not keep people out," says Datta.

Abraham says that a possible way to deal with this can be on the lines of Canadian privacy law where a privacy commissioner can raise such concerns with the service provider directly.

Source: 

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-08-01/social-media/40960807_1_the-pil-social-media-other-social-networking-sites

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Policy Matter: Pakistani artists challenging YouTube ban

By Jinjoo Lee , CNN

(CNN) -- YouTube is a source of entertainment and news for billions around the world, but Pakistanis have lost access to the video site for almost a year after clips of the controversial film "Innocence of Muslims" prompted a government ban. That ban will be challenged for the first time in court Wednesday -- and activists, as well as artists, some of whose careers were launched on YouTube, are keeping their fingers crossed. Rapper, singer and songwriter Adil Omar is a musician that has relied on social networking sites to launch his career. Even without a record label, he successfully used YouTube to reach both a domestic and international audience -- collaborating with international artists like Cypress Hill, Everlast, Xzibit and guitarist Slash from Guns 'N Roses.

Producer of anti-Islam film on supervised release
YouTube "has put me out there internationally. I've worked with major artists, been in the mainstream press," Omar said. But soon after the YouTube ban, response to his album plummeted. "I'm getting about a tenth of the promotion I was getting before and I have about a tenth of the sales I was initially getting," he said. Numbers on YouTube reflect his comment. Omar's last major single "Paki Rambo," released before the YouTube ban, generated more than 320,000 hits. One of his first singles after the ban got just over 30,000 clicks.

Protests erupted across the Arab world last year when trailers for "Innocence of Muslims," an anti-Islam film that mocks the prophet Mohammed, appeared online.YouTube is not the only social media website that was taken awayfrom Pakistani Web users. Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr all have been banned in the past. The recent ban on YouTube, however, is the longest-running act of online censorship in Pakistan's history.

Bytes for All, an organization that fights for digital rights in Pakistan, has worked to lift this censorship -- running a poster campaign, filing petitions and writing to the U.N. Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression. "We do not need dictatorial nannies to tell people what to watch and what not to watch and what decision to take and how to take it. Because after all, it's a democracy. It's not a dictatorship anymore," said Furhan Hussain from Bytes for All. The ban on YouTube "is in direct violation of the constitution of Pakistan. It violates the fundamental human rights of freedom of expression and freedom of access to information of the citizens of Pakistan," he said.

Pakistan's minister of information technology CNN got no response. Omar, like the activists from Bytes for All, hopes the ban will be lifted soon. "What I'd like to see happen is for YouTube to open up again. For Pakistani artists and musicians to be able to earn money again and make a living ... to be able to reach an international audience again." 

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/06/tech/social-media/pakistan-youtube-ban/