The World Bank, YoungInnovations, International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Computer Assiocation of Nepal (CAN) is organizing a Violence Against Women (VAW) Hackathon in an attempt to address the challenge of domestic violence in Nepal by building innovative technology solutions to assist the victims of Violence Against Women and the agencies that work to support them.[break]
The Hackathon brings together around 100 techies as well as gender activists and experts to collaborate and come up with prototypes that will help tackle the VAW issue in Nepal. “70% of the population in Nepal has access to mobile phones,” shares Erisha Suwal, a consultant who is currently working with the World Bank. This statistic is an opportunity and can be put to use, to bring out-of-the-box solutions to VAW in Nepal.
Suwal, along with the potential participants of this Hackathon, Prakash Neupane who is a software developer at Open Knowledge Foundation Nepal, Vivek Bhusal, who is also a software developer with YoungInnovations, Nikita Acharya, currently working with the Cloud Factory and gender activists Bindu Pariyar and Sanjita Timsina participate in a ChitChat about VAW Hackathon.
Keshab Thoker/Republica
L to R Nikita Acharya, Bindu Pariyar, Sanjita Timsina, Vivek Bhusal, Prakash Neupane and Erisha Suwal.
Let’s have some background on this event.
Vivek: A Hackathon is made up of two words – ‘hack’ and ‘marathon’. You won’t be able to find it in the dictionary but the term emerged to denote a process of using technology and collaborations of people in this field, to rapidly develop a prototype of something.
Erisha: The World Bank has earlier done a similar regional event in Latin America and we’re replicating that idea here in Nepal. In six working hours, we’re bringing people from the field of technology together with subject matter experts on VAW to bring out a prototype. We have different local partners involved. This is definitely not a one-day thing, however. After the three best prototypes come out of this Hackathon, we will start talking about how we can further support and pilot them.
What is your personal inspiration to be a part of this Hackathon?
Prakash: I came across this page called Girls in ICT and through that, I found out some shocking statistics. For example, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, about 48 women are raped in one hour. I wondered about the state of Nepal and why we were silent about such extreme and unimaginable cases that happen here. I did a research and found out that there are organizations that are different but are working to end VAW in Nepal. Then, I heard about the Hackathon and found it interesting. Plus, I’ve been working for various social causes as well.
Vivek: I’ve been part of all the Hackathons that have happened in Nepal so far. I’m also a part of this network called Mobile Nepal which is involved in problem solving though the mobile technologies. I believe that to a certain level, problems can be minimized this way.
Sanjita: My interest to work in the social sector dates back to my childhood. When I heard about the Hackathon, I liked the concept, especially because it was new for Nepal. Technology is that medium, through which we can really get to the youth who can be considered as the ‘technology generation’. I’ve had the experience of working with survivors of VAW, and in this field on the whole. I want to see how I can contribute to the Hackathon, given my background. I also think this is going to be a good learning opportunity for me.
Bindu: When I was a child, in my neighborhood, an uncle of mine used to beat his wife a lot. The wife used to come to our place to hide and cry. I always used to encourage the wife to report to the police or at least do something about the violence. But she remained silent saying that things would only get worse. As a child, I wished that there was some way, she could express the injustice. She used to be bruised all over due to the beatings. I think this Hackathon will find alternatives and solutions to such cases and eventually help to minimize VAW.
Nikita: This will be my first experience of a Hackathon and so I’m excited. Apart from that, being a girl, I know that I might come across similar situations of harassment and violence. Hence, I want to use my skills and ideas to help others as well as myself.
Share with us, some ideas that you might have right now, for the Hackathon.
Vivek: I’ve gone through the submission of ideas on the website and seen some impressive ones. Creating a platform where women can speak out against the violence they are facing whether by using a simple SMS mechanism, or some other means, is the sort of idea that, I think, I’d like to work with.
Sanjita: In case of violence, especially ones done by family members, there are situations when the victims can’t even get out of the house, to ask for support. Hence, reporting has to be made accessible to the victims and in this case, technology can play a role. Also, in Nepal, there are many organizations working for the victims of VAW, from different aspects. Some take care of counseling; others look at the human rights aspect, and so on. However, some victims are getting support from multiple organizations whereas others are getting none. Hence to address this issue, one idea we can explore is categorizing organizations and the support that they offer so that victims know who to turn to, regarding the specific support that they might need.
Nikita: Looking to prevent VAW situations, an idea is that we can perhaps use GPS mapping to identify red zones and safe zones and guide people about which area is safe, and which isn’t. Also, creating a forum where women can share their problems and also get some consultations is another idea.
What are some challenges that you foresee, during the Hackathon, and in the case of the implementation of the prototypes?
Prakash: As people from the field of IT, building a prototype isn’t the problem rather getting access to data which will help us make the correct prototype might be a challenge. For example, we might have to make apps that target a particular section that is most vulnerable to VAW. So we need to know what that particular section is.
Vivek: We know how to make the prototype. But when it comes to the ‘what’ part, then it may be a challenge. For example, we have very little knowledge about the degrees of violence and harassment and whether to target the app for Kathmandu or elsewhere. This is where we need to depend on the civil society for the data and subject matter support.
Sanjita: There are both opportunities as well as challenges. One challenge is that we might have to think about making software that is suitable for everyone, like the differently-abled and the illiterate segment of the population as well.
The VAW Hackathon is scheduled to be held on June 16, at the Trade Tower in Thapathali.
Related story
Govt presents ICT awards in seven categories on occasion of 7th...
