Safeguarding Spaces: Civil Society Urges Accountability for Civic and Digital Freedoms

Civil society organizations, journalists, and human rights defenders have urged the government to adopt effective measures to ensure accountability in safeguarding civic and digital spaces. The call was made at a workshop titled “Safeguarding Voice: Strategies for Strengthening Civil and Digital Space,” held in Dhaka on Thursday (April 17). The event was organized by Voices for Interactive Choice and Empowerment (VOICE).

The workshop brought together representatives from civil society, media, legal, and human rights organizations who reviewed and shared feedback on a national strategy document aimed at strengthening civic space. A significant emphasis of the strategy paper was placed on the issue of gendered disinformation.

Activist and researcher Rezaur Rahman Lenin remarked, “Our society has yet to fully acknowledge the gravity of gender-based disinformation in civic discourse. To bridge this gap, existing laws must be reformed.”

Participating organizations included Article 19, Media Research and Development Initiative, Nijera Kori, International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust, Engage Media, SPARC, Sangat, and several media outlets.

Musarrat Maheera, Deputy Director of VOICE, said, “Civic and digital spaces are shrinking. In this context, civil society must actively contribute to legislation that does not suppress voices but upholds rights and digital dignity.”

VOICE Executive Director Ahmed Swapan Mahmud noted, “The strategy document, built on research, legal analysis, participant experiences, and interviews, illustrates how laws are being used to suppress dissent and outlines effective ways to combat gender-based violence, digital harassment, and tech-enabled threats like deepfakes.”

Speakers emphasized that open, safe, and inclusive civic and digital spaces can only be achieved through the collective efforts of civil society, the media, educational institutions, youth, and the government. They called for stronger connections between civil society and media to foster a democratic environment.

The workshop was moderated by Sharmin Khan, Legal Advisor at ICNL, Prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal Saimum Reza Talukder, and Rezwan Islam of Engage Media.