Author: The Bachchao Project Team

The Bachchao Project is a techno-feminist collective that undertakes community-centric efforts to develop and support open source technologies and technical frameworks with the goals of mitigating gender-based violence and working towards equal rights for women, LGBTQIA people, and gender non-conforming groups. We conduct research and advocacy in all the above areas and guide communities in determining appropriate technological interventions for themselves.

The Bachchao Project featured in RightsCon Community Voices series

September 15, 2018

The Bachchao Project was recently featured in the RightsCon Community voices series: https://www.accessnow.org/community-voices-the-bachchao-project-fights-for-gender-rights-online

Community Voices: The Bachchao Project fights for gender rights online

28 August 2018 | 2:29 pm | Nikki Gladstone

CC-BY 2018 accessnow.org

The Bachchao Project is a techno-feminist collective working at the intersection of technology and gender rights. Chinmayi S K, a computer science engineer by training, is the founder of the project, which she started in recognition of her own experiences developing and using technologies that do not reflect the needs of women and queer individuals online.

“There has always been a gap between those who produce technology and those who use it,” says Chinmayi. When that gap exists, and technological innovations do not represent or consult users, particularly those from historically marginalized groups, they risk coding existing discriminatory biases into tools that do not serve everyone.

The India-based organization works with what they call “both ends of the spectrum”: technologists and users. Both groups, Chinmayi acknowledges, struggle. Technologists face difficulties understanding the on-the-ground reality of user groups, while users new to technology lack the support needed to navigate these innovations. The Bachchao Project seeks to bridge the two, under the overarching mission of equal rights for women, gender minorities, and LGBTQIA persons.

Since the team is made up of both technologists and human rights defenders, they’re able to deconstruct technological concepts while simultaneously understanding the needs of different communities. They also rely on concerned individuals to build circles of trust within their communities and pave the way for impactful interventions.

Despite this, they face ongoing challenges in the work they do. The tendency for organizations to work in silos makes it difficult for them to get buy-in for an approach that seeks to promote collaboration. In some cases, it can be difficult to get organizations not only to consider seriously principles of diversity and inclusion, but also to integrate them in their work and tools.

For the Bachchao Project, RightsCon is an opportunity to confront those challenges head-on, in a space that thrives because of engagement and strategy building across sectors and disciplines. At RightsCon Toronto, the team released its latest publication, Of Sieges and Shutdowns, a report detailing how unreliable mobile networks and intentional internet shutdowns affect women activists and entrepreneurs in the economically underdeveloped and conflict-ridden state of Manipur, India. The project is a starting point for understanding the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) by women in the region.

Learn more about the Bachchao Project on their website or follow them on Twitter, and get in touch directly if you are interested in volunteering or collaborating with The Bachchao Project on one of their initiatives.

Paper on Safe Goa project presented at Tech4Dev Conference 2018

July 19, 2018

Chinmayi S K presented the methodology for the Safe Goa project at the 5th International Conference on Technologies for Development (Tech4Dev 2018) held in Laussane, Switzerland from 27 to 29 June 2018. A working paper titled “Low Technology Participatory Methodologies in Research and Advocacy for Making Cities Safer for Women” authored by Chinmayi S K, Yugendran Muthuvel and Tania Devaiah was submitted for the conference. The final paper is scheduled for release in September 2018.

The conference was organised by the UNESCO Chair in Technologies for Development at the Cooperation & Development Center (CODEV), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland.

Workshop on building tech for diversity and inclusion, Brussels

July 16, 2018

The Bachchao Project, Open Knowledge Belgium and BeCentral partnered to host a hands-on and insightful workshop on July 5 and 6, 2018, called “Building Tech for Diversity and Inclusion”.

The workshop was delivered by Chinmayi S K and was hosted at BeCentral. On July 5 the workshop was open to the general public. The next day it was held exclusively for Open Sumer of Code participants. It was based on the curriculum from the “Manual to build technology for diversity and Inclusion” devised by The Bachchao Project.

The Bachchao Project released version 1.3 of the manual at the workshop.

Workshop on building tech for diversity and inclusion at BeCentral, Brussels. Photo credit: Manon Brulard

Workshop on building tech for diversity and inclusion at BeCentral, Brussels. Photo credit: Julia Thomaschki

Safe Goa nominated for Sandvik India Gender Awards 2018

June 17, 2018

Chinmayi S K was selected as a finalist in the Individual category of the Sandvik India Gender Awards, 2018 for the Safe Goa project, which was conceived and executed as an initiative of The Bachchao Project.

Sandvik India received 384 applications for the award, out of which 129 were long-listed. Subsequently, 24 were selected for the final round across 8 categories. Chinmayi S K was among the top 3 finalists in the Individual category.

The award distribution ceremony was held in Pune on 25th May 2018.

Workshop on inclusive tech hosted by Prototype Fund in Berlin

June 17, 2018

The Prototype Fund, Berlin hosted a “Diversity and Inclusion in Tech” workshop on May 7, 2018. The workshop was held at the Mozilla office in Berlin and delivered by Chinmayi S K, Founder of The Bachchao Project. It was based on the curriculum from the “Manual to build technology for diversity and Inclusion” devised by The Bachchao Project.

*Chinmayi S K at the workshop at Prototype Fund. Photo courtesy Julia Kloiber*

The Bachchao Project at RightsCon 2018

June 17, 2018

Members of The Bachchao Project spoke at five different sessions at RightsCon held in Toronto, Canada from May 16 to 18, 2018.

Chinmayi S K and Rohini Lakshané delivered a lightning talk entitled “Researching women’s lives and livelihoods in the time of sieges and shutdowns” on May 18. They also released the draft version of the research report “Of Sieges and Shutdowns” at the session. (One of the speakers, Nonibala Narengbam, Executive Director of IRDSO, Manipur was replaced by Rohini Lakshané as the former could not make it to the conference.) https://rightscon2018.sched.com/event/EHpg/lightning-talks-transformative-technology-in-a-changing-global-economy

Rohini Lakshané was one of the speakers at the “Don’t say you don’t know. Learn concrete tools to provide meaningful help to victims of non-consensual pornography on the internet from the Global South” session held on May 18: https://rightscon2018.sched.com/event/EHlt/dont-say-you-dont-know-learn-concrete-tools-to-provide-meaningful-help-to-victims-of-non-consensual-pornography-on-the-internet-from-the-global-south

Chinmayi S K showcased the tech policy hackathon methodology that she built as a contractor at Internews in 2017 at the demo room session “Tech Policy Hackathons: how to encourage policy advocates and technologists to collaborate on digital rights“. The session was held on May 16. https://rightscon2018.sched.com/event/Efyn/tech-policy-hackathons-how-to-encourage-policy-advocates-and-technologists-to-collaborate-on-digital-rights

Chinmayi S K spoke in her capacity as a technologist and as a representative of Random Hacks of Kindness at the session “A technologist, a policy wonk, and an Internet freedom advocate walk into a bar: Assessing how Internet Communities build bridges for human rights“. The session was held on May 18. https://rightscon2018.sched.com/event/EHnv/a-technologist-a-policy-wonk-and-an-internet-freedom-advocate-walk-into-a-bar-assessing-how-internet-communities-build-bridges-for-human-rights

Chinmayi S K spoke at the “Community infrastructure for activists: security and shut-down circumvention” about things to consider while building community infrastructure for activists. She also shared lessons from Geeks Without Bounds’ efforts to build community infrastructure at Standing Rock. The session was held on May 18. https://rightscon2018.sched.com/event/EHnp/community-infrastructure-for-activists-security-and-shut-down-circumvention

Session at Internet Researchers’ Conference, 2018

February 15, 2018

A paper submission entitled “Of Sieges and Shutdowns” based on a recent exploratory study by Chinmayi S K and Rohini Lakshané has been selected for the Internet Researchers’ Conference (IRC), 2018. In line with this year’s theme of the conference (“Offline”), the study explores the impact of intentional Internet shutdowns on the lives of women in Manipur, India. It also qualitatively examines the effects of bad mobile network connectivity on the personal and professional lives of women entrepreneurs and activists. Read the full proposal here: https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc18/sessions/ofsiegesandshutdowns.html

IRC is an annual conference series organised by the Centre for Internet and Society, India.

Talk on “Designing technology for diversity and inclusion” at IIIT Bengaluru

January 19, 2018

Rohini Lakshané, Director (Emerging Research) at The Bachchao Project, delivered a talk on “Designing technology for diversity and inclusion” at the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Bengaluru on January 17, 2018.

The talk covered the fundamentals of designing technology that encompasses the diversity among its intended users and includes those users with their active participation. Rohini also acquainted the audience with the “Manual for building technology for diversity and inclusion” authored by her, Chinmayi S K (Founder, The Bachchao Project) and Willow Brough. The manual is licensed and available at: https://github.com/thebachchaoproject/Manual-to-build-tech-for-diversity-and-Inclusion/blob/master/BuildingTechforDiversityandInclusion101.pdf

Slide deck: Designing tech for diversity and inclusion

Photo credit: Facebook page of IIITB Masters in Digital Society

Rohini Lakshané speaking at Indian Institute of Information Technology, Bengaluru, October 2017 on building inclusive technology. — *Rohini Lakshané speaking at Indian Institute of Information Technology, Bengaluru on designing inclusive technology.*

Gender based violence in East India

October 26, 2015

Societies that discriminate on the basis of gender pay a significant price in terms of higher poverty,lower quality of life, slower economic growth, and weaker governance (Elizabeth King, 2001).

India’s rugged north-east( which consists of the seven states of Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and the Himalayan state of Sikkim) and eastern parts ( Jharkhand , Orissa , West Bengal, Sikkim) of India has seen a rise in crimes against women over the past decade. In 2014, the National Crime Records Bureau reported that six of the north-east states have witnessed an accelerated increase in crimes against women. These crimes ranged from rape and kidnapping through to dowry death and domestic cruelty.

The region is multiethnic with heterogeneous cultural background and is different from mainstream homogeneous culture. Moreover in the last few decades insurgency has been the part and parcel of the life of the people of the region. Heavy militancy in the area, lack of access to economic opportunity and education has left many women vulnerable to becoming severely affected by trafficking, violence or systemic abuse.

The fear of not being believed, being stigmatized, being blamed, dread of revisiting the ordeal during interrogations are some reasons as to why so many incidents of crimes against women go unreported in a patriarchal society. The victim is the one who is left disgraced while the guilty perpetrator is offered impunity. These crimes reflect deep rooted gender inequalities that persist in India.

Studies show the high prevalence of all forms of violence against women across all socio-economic settings in eastern zone of India. Giving property right, access to employment and educational opportunity to women thus might not change the picture. A revolutionary change in the social and cultural values and behavioral pattern is necessary to foster the process of achieving gender equality. As soon as women feel that they have the capability to operate the society at the same term as men then achieving gender equality would not remain as a distant dream.

To combat the rising violence, sustainable solutions are needed to ensure protection of women from the East. Hackathon against Gender Based Violence is one such initiative that has brought together technologists and activists to creatively think of solutions.

In India the issues of gender based violence are influenced not only by individuals but have deep cultural issues attached to them. Hence, while building solutions one needs to think through these cultural issues. This event would act as an enabler to think about solutions around the local issues of gender based violence, involving discussions and learning opportunities along with building technology.

The aim of this event would be to create an environment for building sustainable solutions to Gender Based Violence. In doing so we also make sure the following are achieved in the process:

To include the best practices of humanitarian technology building in the solutions
To encourage creativity and new approaches to solving a persistent problem
To encourage more women to participate in the solution building
To build sustainable solutions through this event