Ep 3 - On the question of representation and consent: Reflections from Bangalore after a Wikipedia edit-a-thon
Apr 19, 2019. Written by Claudia Pozo and Siko Bouterse. Interview by Claudia Pozo.
In the midst of the #VisibleWikiWomen campaign, we want to celebrate the wonderful contributions of our super amigxs and friends who have been doing amazing work to increase the visibility of women online.
Two of these great allies are Shobha SV from Co Media Lab and Padmini from Design Beku, who organized an edit-a-thon in Bangalore last March and added photos of women onto Wikimedia Commons as part of the #VisibleWikiWomen challenge.
In the third episode of Whose Voices? we had a talk with Shobha SV and Padmini, to learn about their experience leading a #VisibleWikiWomen edit-a-thon in Bangalore.
“Wikipedia edit-a-thons look very glamorous but it is a lot of hard work” – Shobha SV
As the conversation took place, these fierce feminists hit the nail on the head by bringing up larger questions about women’s representation online, consent when taking photos, the ways in which visibility in some cases can be problematic, and how much control women do or don’t have over their personal images online.
“How much control does a person have about their image online, that becomes a question” – Padmini
These issues are critical to making women visible on the Internet, and particularly difficult and complex in a Global South context. We are so grateful that Shobha and Padmini could share their important reflections with all of us, and help make women visible from every part of the world.
We invite you all to spare some time and listen to this thought-provoking conversation and share your reflections with us and with your communities!