Kaveri Gopakumar
I’d like to start with few lines from a poem I wrote for women in conflict zones of India, titled
‘Devi in distress’
In her lies.. a lifetime of forced sacrifice
not what she sought, not by choice
eventhough, by all means..and age
she’s far more experienced, capable and wise
beyond..the identity as popularized
she’s as much a woman as us
she’s as much Indian as us
she’s as much Nari and Shakti
she’s no victim, but a survivor
survivor of systemic injustice
not the kind, that would accept defeat
not just the simple and all-time sweet
you need not fear the battle within her
but the walls you build around her
the walls that silence her voice
the ones that hide those cries
you need not fear the world she never conquered
but the whirlwind of her losses, drowning her soul
she’s a Devi too, walking in her power
instead of the act of an “occasional saviour”..
why not empower?
why not meet the most humane form of her?
-Kaveri Gopakumar
In the halls of global diplomacy, “security” has traditionally been defined by territorial integrity
and military dominance. But in the volatile corridors of Manipur and Kashmir, a different kind of frontline has emerged: the digital landscape. Today, gendered insecurity, violence, and digital exclusion are converging to shape women’s lived realities in ways that standard state-centric security frameworks – boots on the ground and border fences – completely fail to address.
To secure these regions, we must pivot toward a Digital Feminist Foreign Policy (DFFP). This isn’t just a theoretical expansion of diplomacy; it is a prerequisite for peace. We must treat digital space not as a luxury or a side-narrative, but as the primary infrastructure for peacebuilding, justice, and economic survival.
Women in Conflict Zones: The Invisible Frontline
Conflict-affected regions in India, particularly Manipur and Kashmir, illustrate the high stakes of this policy shift. In Manipur, ethnic violence since May 2023 has displaced over 60,000 people, destroying thousands of homes. Parallelly, Kashmir’s history of militarization has long
fragmented social structures.
However, the violence does not end when women go home. For conflict-affected women,
insecurity follows them into the digital ether:
● Digital Insecurity as Displacement: In Kashmir, the abrogation of Article 370 was
followed by a 552-day internet blackout – the longest in democratic history. For women,
this meant more than lost news; it meant being cut off from emergency health services,
reproductive care, and remote schooling.
● The Double Burden of Violence: Since the violence in Manipur erupted, women have
faced heightened risks of digital exploitation. While traditional security forces focused on
physical roadblocks, the lack of digital forensic capacity meant online sexual violence
and doxing went entirely unchecked.
Traditional security frameworks fail women because they do not safeguard bodily autonomy or
digital dignity. Instead, state-imposed internet shutdowns, often used as a tool for “public order”-act as a form of collective punishment that disproportionately affects women’s ability to earn a living in the knowledge economy.
What’s Going Wrong? The Rise of the “Digital Retreat”
Recent data from Kashmir paints a grim picture of cyber-victimization. A 2024 study of female
university students found that 84% had experienced cybercrime in a single year, ranging from
harassment to unwanted stalking.
The impact is systemic:
- Systemic Underreporting: Despite high victimization, 43% of these women reported
having zero awareness of cyber laws or rights. In regions where trust in law enforcement
is low due to militarization, reporting digital violence is seen as inviting further state or
societal stigma. - Digital Retreat: Cyber harassment causes women to withdraw from online spaces. In a
conflict zone, where mobility is already restricted by curfews and checkpoints, the internet is the only gateway to education and work. Withdrawing “voluntarily” to avoid abuse effectively shuts women out of the global knowledge economy. - Livelihood Loss: For rural women dependent on schemes like MGNREGA, internet
shutdowns are a direct threat to survival. Because attendance and payments are now
digitized via geo-tagged photos, “no internet” literally means “no pay and no food.”
The WPS Framework: Reimagining Digital Systems for Peace
A feminist digital foreign policy roots itself in the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda.
Drawing on theoretical frameworks, we can see how digital tools strengthen the four pillars of
global security:
| Pillar | Digital Intervention | Impact in Conflict Zones |
| Participation | Remote peace dialogues | Enables women to bypass military checkpoints to engage in civil society dialogues. |
| Protection | Encrypted reporting channels | Provides a secure bypass for reporting gender-based violence (GBV) without social stigma. |
| Prevention | Early-warning monitors | Community-led apps that track violence escalation before it turns physical. |
| Relief & Recovery | Digital peace economies | Sustains education and telemedicine through mesh networks even during shutdowns. |
Drawing from the Capability Approach of Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum, we argue that digital literacy is not just a skill, it is a capability that grants women the voice and mobility
required to survive protracted conflict.
The Missing Pillar: Digital Restorative Justice
Justice is the bedrock of any foreign policy. In regions like Kashmir and Manipur, where formal
legal mechanisms are often slow or perceived as biased, digital spaces offer a path toward
Restorative Justice.
● Digital Archives: Survivor testimonies and truth-telling platforms can preserve history
and accountability when formal state archives remain silent.
● Procedural Justice: DFFP demands that women are not just “users” of tech, but
designers of cybersecurity policy. The current “security-first” design by male
policymakers often prioritizes surveillance over the privacy-by-design standards women
need to feel safe.
Key Interventions for Building Digital Peace Economies
To move from theory to high-level impact, India’s future National Action Plan (NAP) on WPS
must treat digital infrastructure as a security priority:
- Stabilize Internet Access: High-court safeguards must be in place to ensure that
shutdowns are not the default response. The “shutdown-first” mentality is a direct threat
to women’s rights. - Develop a localized Digital Capability Index (DCI): Track digital safety awareness and device sovereignty (personal vs. shared devices) to direct targeted aid.
- Feminist Digital Forensic Labs: Invest in cyber-protection rapid-response units led by women, ensuring that victims of online gendered violence have a trustworthy path to
legal redress. - Invest in “Mesh Networks”: In conflict-prone rural blocks, build offline digital
repositories that function without a central internet backbone, ensuring access to health
and education during blackouts.
Conclusion: Embedding a Digital WPS Future
Digital transformation, if designed through feminist principles – can fill the structural governance gaps left by physical conflict. It can become the engine for agency, communication, and accountability.
A Digital Feminist Foreign Policy isn’t about being “online”; it’s about redefining security to
include the digital dignity of the most vulnerable. For India, embedding these principles into the national security conversation is no longer optional – it is the only way to build a lasting, just peace.
About the contributor: Kaveri Gopakumar is a Tech Marketer and a leading advocate for women in technology and leadership, based in Bangalore. Her professional excellence is recognized by the Economic Times Edge – Most Promising Tech Marketer award 2025 and the DE&I in Tech Leadership award 2024 (Analytics India Magazine). Further acknowledging her potential, she was named a Global Finalist (Globant Awards 2021) and a Rising Star Finalist (She Inspires Awards 2022). With a keen interest in the intersection of technology, gender justice, and foreign policy, her research focuses on applying feminist principles to cybersecurity and peacebuilding infrastructure. Her background bridges the gap between digital innovation and social impact.
She is committed to advocating for the development of resilient, safe, and inclusive digital spaces for women in conflict zones, viewing technology as a critical tool for advancing human justice.
Disclaimer: All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organisation.
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Acknowledgement: This article was posted by Manya Marwah, Research Intern at IMPRI.
