Social Media and Cyber-Jihad in Pakistan

The Internet and social media are part of today’s battlefield between the forces of liberalism and those of extremism, at least in Pakistan. Both forces are jostling for using—and controlling—the Internet and social media to make themselves heard and silence the opposition. This paper looks into how extremist forces appropriate the Internet and social media to get their message out, sway public opinion in their favor and seek new recruits. It also examines the potentials of social media for civic activism in Pakistan and how the misuse of blasphemy laws in Pakistan’s constitution stifles liberal voices on the Internet and social media. This paper discusses the concept of blasphemy in Islam, their incorporation in the legal system of Pakistan and their impact on the freedom of expression. This paper concludes that an effective use of social media is contingent on at least three things: 1) Literacy 2) access to the Internet and social media tools and 3) media laws and policies that guarantee freedom of expression and access to information. These are essential for the creation of a vibrant public sphere, which can then be strengthened by using social media as a long-term tool. Without freedom of expression, liberal forces cannot make full use of social media for promoting democracy and rights of minority groups.

Socio-Economic Factors of Depression Among Women in Selected Districts of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

This study titled as Socio-economic Factors of Depression among Women in Selected Districts of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, was carried out with Mixed Method Research (MMR) approach under the concurrent triangulation strategy of analysis. For quantitative data, a self-designed structured questionnaire was used to collect data about socio-economic profile of the respondents whereas Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM) was applied to diagnose the women with depression. Severity of depression was assessed on the basis of DSM severity scale. Chi square test was applied to find out association between socio-economic variables and depression. Qualitative data was managed manually using interview guide. Both quantitative data and qualitative data were triangulated for comparison to see similarities and dissimilarities therein. The study population included 450 women, out of whom 300 had depression while the rest 150 respondents were non-depression respondents who were interviewed for the sake of comparison. Mean age of the respondents was 35.4 years (SD±11.61). Ninety seven percent had moderate depression. Bivariate analysis showed that depression in sampled women was significantly associated with domestic violence, household debt, polygamy of husbands, emotional abuse, early marriage, non-cordial relationship with in-laws and lack of freedom in the context of spending. The emerging themes of qualitative data during the in-depth interview were almost the same except the hiding of information about their illness from community and other family members. The reason for such act was to avert socially and culturally induced phenomena. The matching qualitative themes included early marriage, domestic abuse, economic difficulties, suicidal behaviour and distortion in social relationships among depressed women. In a nut shell, all the emerging themes were in congruence with the quantitative findings except hiding of depression. The study recommends the inculcation of massive awareness regarding the negative bearings of depression and also generation of socio-economic opportunities for women in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).