Wildlife Monitoring Tech Misused to Harass Women in India

AFP/APP

Paris: Advanced technology meant to monitor wildlife, such as camera traps, drones, and sound recorders, is reportedly being misused to intimidate and harass women in India, researchers revealed on Monday.

In one shocking incident, a camera trap captured a photo of an autistic woman relieving herself in the forest, which was then shared on social media by local men. The incident provoked outrage among villagers, who destroyed the camera traps in retaliation.

Cultural Freedom Under Threat

Trishant Simlai, a researcher from the UK’s Cambridge University, spent 14 months interviewing around 270 villagers near the Corbett Tiger Reserve in northern India. According to Simlai, forests traditionally served as spaces where women could express themselves freely in a patriarchal society.

Women would sing, discuss taboo topics, and engage in activities like smoking while collecting firewood and grass. However, with the introduction of surveillance technologies for wildlife conservation, the forest has become an extension of societal control over women.

“Drones have been deliberately flown over women, causing them to drop their firewood and flee,” Simlai said, citing a study published in Environment and Planning.

Fears of Misuse

A local woman quoted in the study shared her anxiety: “We cannot walk in front of the cameras or sit in areas with our kurtis above our knees. We fear being photographed or recorded inappropriately.”

In one case, a camera captured a couple engaging in a romantic moment, which was reported to the police by forest officials.

Tragically, the fear of cameras has driven some women deeper into tiger-inhabited areas to avoid surveillance. This has led to increased risks, with one woman killed by a tiger earlier this year.

Community Backlash

The misuse of surveillance has sparked anger among locals. In 2017, villagers burned camera traps after a humiliating photo of a marginalized woman was shared on social media.

Simlai emphasized the need for conservation organizations to engage with communities before deploying such technology, advocating for transparency, oversight, and proper training for forest workers.

Expert Opinion

Rosaleen Duffy, a conservation expert at Sheffield University, remarked that such incidents highlight the social and political implications of technology in conservation. “Technologies cannot be introduced in a vacuum. There must be clear rules and consequences for misuse,” she said.

Despite the controversies, Simlai noted that these technologies are revolutionizing conservation efforts and could coexist harmoniously with local communities if implemented sensitively.