Anita Gurumurthy

Prepared for a workshop on Open Development organised by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in Ottawa (Canada) in May 2010, the paper presents a comprehensive critique of the concept of openness, taken from the technology discourse. The paper critically analyses the elements of openness – greater access,…

This research paper is part of the collection of essays In search of economic alternatives for gender and social justice: Voices from India which highlights some common guiding principles for alternative economic practice and building blocks for an alternative economic paradigm.
Against the backdrop of the social…

Anita Gurumurthy was part of the panel on “Exploring the relationship between cultural rights and cultural diversity” at the February 2010 Seminar organised by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in partnership with the International Organization of La Francophonie and UNESCO. She made a presentation…

Anita Gurumurthy delivered two lectures on the interface between Gender and the Information Society on 25-26 March 2010 in Malaysia. At the Women's Development Research Centre (Kanita) in the University Sains Malaysia (Penang), she talked about 'Reframing Southern feminism(s) – An information society perspective'.

At…

In this article published in International Technology and International Development (Special edition on the Harvard Forum II), Anita Gurumurthy offers a macro-structural critique that derives from an analysis of some policy texts, as well as from the first-hand experience of IT for Change. Read the article here.

Beyond the widespread economic and access-centred approach to ICTs, this think piece addresses the need to think about ICTs as a social phenomenon which impacts each of us, whether we actively use ICTs or not. ICTs have an important emancipatory potential for marginalised populations, and especially for women, as they allow…

IT for Change was invited by the Journal of Community Informatics to guest-edit a special issue on gender and community informatics, which presents articles from various countries across the world and discusses how information and communication technology have a transformatory impact on gender relations. Please read the journal here.

Anita Gurumurthy (IT for Change) represented IT for Change at the IDRC Public Panel on ‘The potential for open development for Canada and abroad’ held in Ottawa (Canada) on 5 May 2010. The panel discussion addressed issues such as unequal access to technology, threats to privacy, and intellectual property rights, examining…

This article, published in the Economic and Political Weekly  (3 October 2009), is a report of the consultation on the 'Misuse of Communication Technology and Its Linkages with Violence against Women' held in Trivandrum (India) in March 2009. The article advocates that policy choices  need to avoid narratives of fear around…