The early suffrage movements since the 17th century took several decades for the ban on women’s voting rights to be recognised as grossly thwarting an economy. Whether it was for the purpose of claiming more votes or genuinely transforming society’s evils, this has been a profoundly significant step in reforming and mobilising the western economies’ fortunes.

These reforms were catalysed with early digital pervasiveness in the West, helping women to reach out and be heard. More recently, many outreach platforms such as MamaCash (founded 1983) were established to grow from being a group of feminists in Amsterdam into a global funder for social justice. Digital reach has made this possible.

Digital, the new rival In our country, freedom for women still remains largely a man’s choice. But our men have found a rival in digital. While many men have shackled themselves to the image of the subservient woman, this new lover has embraced the new Digitally Inclined Worldly Aware Woman (DIWA) with all its charm, intensity and multifaceted personalities.

Indian women today are dreaming big and daring to achieve. Even those with limited means desire to improve the quality of their lives, even if marginally. Digital is empowering them with access to information, the right to entertainment and the power to connect and reach out to a larger universe.

Taboo in many places But this is only one part of our story. While our Prime Minister applauds Chhattisgarh’s Tanuja Raichuria for providing various digital facilities to villagers in Dhamtari Village, reports suggest that in Bihar’s Phulwaria, the Panchayat has “imposed a blanket ban on the use of mobile phones by women”. In another region in Bihar’s Kishanganj district the Panchayat punishes unmarried girls with a fine of ₹10,000 and married girls with ₹2,000 for using mobiles. In Uttar Pradesh’s Garariya, this “social evil” is out of bounds for Muslim women. Perhaps these digiphobic men should be punished with a #Selfiewithmymobile campaign by women!

According to a report by GSMA (Groupe Speciale Mobile Association), an international grouping of mobile operators and related companies, of the 612 million female population in India, only 28 per cent own a mobile as against 43 per cent of men. Of the women who are able to borrow the mobile phone from the man of the house, most are subjected to suspicious monitoring of usage and content.

Women’s lower literacy levels don’t make it any easier either.

A Google-supported initiative that Digital Empowerment Foundation, Delhi, is implementing since August 2014 aims to empower women by guiding them to use the internet, teaching basic computer skills, internet skills, internet on mobile, chat, e-mail and such. Women in rural and semi-urban areas access childcare tips, cooking tips and recipes, financial tips and household tips by using the internet. A life improvement is inevitable.

Empowering women is no longer an option. It is the most important yardstick for a nation’s growth. Towards this, while our many governments ramble along with slow reforms, it is the next wave of organic digital revolution that will truly achieve it. And this is unstoppable.

Driving change Movements of social injustice against women will take on digital proportions amplifying themselves to force change.

So will economic revolutions. Digital is placing before women infinite opportunities to become independent with home, small-scale and medium-scale start- ups.

As per a recent report, about 126 million women are launching or operating new businesses in 67 economies around the world. The opportunities in India for this are opening up too. But the ecosystems are not keeping up. Initiatives like the Internet Saathi (travelling cart to spread internet literacy) co-promoted by Tata Trusts and Google India aim to be the digital churiwala or the bangle-seller — who was the only one in the early days with access to the women and brought all the news of the world to them.

Look at the long-term benefits. While on the one hand, the Indian DIWA will become more knowledgeable and empowered to improve her own and her family’s life by improving hygiene, education and finances all around, she will also become a tax-payer and spender, pushing the economy upwards.

Myopic societies will only find the reins slipping from their hands as the DIWA pervades every household.

Digital is the arch nemesis for the dominating Indian man who before controlled every part of the Indian woman’s life. It may soon be time that the Indian DIWA will tell the man: “You need to come a long way, baby!”

CHARULATA RAVI KUMAR, CEO, INDIA, RAZORFISH

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