Across Globe, AI-Generated Deepfake Porn Targets Women Politicians
New Age Islam News Bureau
6January 2025
· Across Globe, AI-Generated Deepfake Porn Targets Women Politicians
· Pakistani Police Detain At Least 10 Afghan Women, Girls In Islamabad
· Queen Rania Of Jordan Meets Young Entrepreneurs, Highlights Community Development, Youth Empowerment
· World Food Program Training Rural Women in Afghanistan on Dairy Processing
· Iranian Women's Rights Activist, Tina Deljou Begins 7-Month Prison Sentence
· Syrian Women Journalists Risk All To Chronicle War, Survival
· Drug Trafficking: Saudi Arabia Sets Free 3 Nigerian Women
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/across-globe-targets-women-politicians/d/134258
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Across Globe, AI-Generated Deepfake Porn Targets Women Politicians
January 6, 2025
From the United States to Italy, Britain, and Pakistan, female politicians are increasingly becoming victims of AI-generated deepfake pornography or sexualized images, in a troubling trend that researchers say threatens women’s participation in public life.
An online boom in non-consensual deepfakes is outpacing efforts to regulate the technology globally, experts say, with a proliferation of cheap artificial intelligence tools including photo apps digitally undressing women.
The intimate imagery is often weaponised to tarnish the reputation of women in the public sphere, jeopardising their careers, undermining public trust, and threatening national security by creating conditions for blackmail or harassment, researchers say.
In the United States, the American Sunlight Project, a disinformation research group, identified more than 35,000 instances of deepfake content depicting 26 members of Congress — 25 of them women — across pornographic sites.
A study published by the group last month showed that nearly one in six women in Congress have been victims of such AI-generated imagery.
“Female lawmakers are being targeted by AI-generated deepfake pornography at an alarming rate,” said Nina Jankowicz, chief executive of the ASP.
“This isn’t just a tech problem — it’s a direct assault on women in leadership and democracy itself.” ASP did not release the names of the female lawmakers depicted in the imagery to avoid public searches, but it said it privately notified their offices.
‘Wage this war’
In the United Kingdom, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner was among more than 30 British female politicians found to be targeted by a deepfake porn website, according to a Channel 4 investigation published last year.
The high-traction site, which was unnamed, appeared to use AI technology to “nudify” about a dozen of those politicians, turning their photos into naked images without their consent, it said.
The tech advancements have given rise to what researchers call an expanding cottage industry around AI-enhanced porn, where users can turn to widely available AI tools and apps to digitally strip off clothing from pictures or generate deepfakes using sexualised text-to-image prompts.
In Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is seeking 100,000 euros ($102,950) in damages from two men accused of creating deepfake porn videos featuring her and posting them to American porn websites.
“This is a form of violence against women,” Meloni told a court last year, according to the Italian news agency ANSA.
“With the advent of artificial intelligence, if we allow the face of some woman to be superimposed on the body of another woman, our daughters will find themselves in these situations, which is exactly why I consider it legitimate to wage this war.”
‘Silencing effect’
In Pakistan, AFP’s fact-checkers debunked a deepfake video that showed lawmaker Meena Majeed publicly hugging an unrelated male minister, an act culturally deemed immoral in a conservative Muslim-majority nation.
In a separate episode, Azma Bukhari, the information minister of the Pakistani province of Punjab, said she felt “shattered” after discovering a deepfake video online that superimposed her face on the sexualised body of an Indian actor.
“The chilling effect of AI-generated images and videos used to harass women in politics is a growing phenomenon,” the nonprofit Tech Policy Press said last year, warning that the trend will have a “silencing effect on the political ambitions” of women.
The proliferation of deepfakes has outstripped regulation around the world. Pakistan lacks legislation to combat sexualised deepfakes. UK laws criminalise sharing deepfake porn and the government has pledged to ban its creation this year, but so far no firm timetable has been laid out.
A handful of US states including California and Florida have passed laws making sexually explicit deepfakes a punishable offence and campaigners are calling on Congress to urgently pass a host of bills to regulate their creation and dissemination.
While high-profile politicians and celebrities, including singer Taylor Swift, have been victims of deepfake porn, experts say women not in the public eye are equally vulnerable.
After ASP notified the targeted US Congresswomen, the fake AI-generated imagery was almost entirely scraped from the websites, reflecting what it called a “disparity of privilege.”
“Women who lack the resources afforded to members of Congress would be unlikely to achieve such a rapid response from deepfake pornography sites if they initiated a takedown request themselves,” ASP said.
Source: dawn.com
https://www.dawn.com/news/1883469/form-of-violence-across-globe-deepfake-porn-targets-women-politicians
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Pakistani police detain at least 10 Afghan women, girls in Islamabad
By Siyar Sirat
January 6, 2025
Pakistani police detained at least 10 Afghan women and girls from a single refugee family in Islamabad on Monday, according to a video sent by migrants to Amu.
The migrants said the father of the family, who earns a living selling Bolani (stuffed flatbread), was not at home when his family members were taken into custody.
The detentions are part of Pakistan’s intensified crackdown on undocumented Afghan migrants, a policy that has escalated over the past four days. Dozens of other migrants have also been arrested during this time, as Pakistan ramps up its efforts to address its migrant population.
The arrests have raised serious concerns among human rights advocates and migrant communities, particularly regarding the treatment of women and children. Critics warn that these detentions further endanger vulnerable groups who fled Afghanistan due to dire conditions at home.
The crackdown comes as Afghan migrants face increasingly difficult circumstances, both in their home country and in Pakistan, where many live in fear of arrest and deportation. Human rights groups have called on Pakistan to ensure humane treatment and protection for refugees, particularly women and children, amid the ongoing enforcement measures.
Source: amu.tv
https://amu.tv/148933/
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Queen Rania Of Jordan Meets Young Entrepreneurs, Highlights Community Development, Youth Empowerment
January 05, 2025
Queen Rania of Jordan visited Jerash on Sunday, meeting members of the Darb Al-Noor Association for Community Development and a group of young entrepreneurs she previously supported under a sponsorship scheme. (Jordan News Agency)
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JERASH, Jordan: Queen Rania of Jordan visited Jerash on Sunday, meeting members of the Darb Al-Noor Association for Community Development and a group of young entrepreneurs she previously supported under a sponsorship scheme, the Jordan News Agency reported.
The queen was welcomed by Noor Banat, the president of the association, and was briefed on the organization’s programs and collaborations with local institutions.
The association focuses on supporting youngsters and women through small-scale projects and providing safe spaces and educational opportunities for children.
Queen Rania toured the Beit Al-Aseilat rest stop, an association initiative offering tourists cultural and culinary experiences.
The rest stop featured local food production activities — including olive oil, za’atar, and sumac processing — and the queen observed the olive-pressing process while interacting with employees in the production kitchen, before visiting the shop that sells products crafted by women and youngsters in Jerash.
Queen Rania also met the association’s board members and held discussions with youngsters from Jerash who run income-generating projects which were supported by the Jordan River Foundation’s sponsorship scheme in 2024. They shared their experiences in creating employment opportunities in the local area.
Source: arabnews.com
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2585357/middle-east
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World Food Program Training Rural Women in Afghanistan on Dairy Processing
ByFidel Rahmati
January 6, 2025
The World Food Program (WFP) has announced that it is providing training for women in rural Afghanistan on producing high-quality dairy products. This initiative aims to help women transition from traditional dairy production methods to sustainable income-generating practices.
On Sunday, January 5, the WFP shared a video on the social media platform X, highlighting how these women have learned to meet their basic needs by selling homemade dairy products.
According to the WFP, Afghan women in rural areas have been taught to produce high-quality yogurt, cheese, and butter using limited, locally available resources.
Frishteh, a woman from central Afghanistan, shared with the WFP that after completing the training, she earned between 10,000 to 12,000 Afghanis per month last summer by selling dairy products.
She emphasized that the six-month training program provided by the WFP has enabled her to meet her family’s needs and achieve financial independence.
Previously, the WFP had described Afghanistan’s harsh winter as “merciless,” stressing that at least 14 million people in the country require food assistance.
While Afghanistan’s women and girls have been deprived of basic rights such as education, employment, and social participation over the past three years, the UN and human rights organizations have consistently advocated for their support.
Additionally, the UN Development Program in Afghanistan reported that it has supported over 1,000 small businesses led by women across the country.
Meanwhile, the Taliban must be urged to reopen schools and universities for girls and women in Afghanistan. Education empowers women, fostering sustainable development and a brighter future, while ensuring equality is essential for Afghanistan’s growth, stability, and prosperity.
Source: khaama.com
https://www.khaama.com/wfp-training-rural-women-in-afghanistan-on-dairy-processing/
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Iranian Women's Rights Activist, Tina Deljou Begins 7-Month Prison Sentence
JANUARY 6, 2025
An Iranian women's rights activist has started serving a seven-month prison sentence at Lakan Prison in northern Rasht after being convicted of "spreading falsehoods."
Tina Deljou's imprisonment comes amid renewed legal pressure on the civil activist, who has faced increasing scrutiny.
Just days before her transfer to prison, security forces raided her residence and confiscated her electronic devices as "part of a new investigation."
This is not Deljou’s first brush with Iran's judicial system. In 2023, she was briefly detained but released on bail.
In a separate case, she served one month of a one-year sentence at Lakan Prison for "propaganda against the Islamic Republic" before being released under electronic monitoring.
Deljou, who lives in Gilan province, has long been scrutinized by security agencies due to her advocacy work for women's rights in Iran.
Source: iranwire.com
https://iranwire.com/en/women/137791-iranian-womens-rights-activist-begins-7-month-prison-sentence/
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Syrian Women Journalists Risk All To Chronicle War, Survival
01/05/2025
Rizik Alabi sheds light on the courage and resilience of Syrian women journalists who have risked their lives to document the truth during the country’s long conflict. These women, including prominent voices like Sanaa Al-Ali, Salwa Abdul Rahman, and Rana Totenji, have defied societal norms and faced arrest, displacement, and violence to report on atrocities, share stories of survival, and advocate for change. Alabi highlights their transformative roles, from reporting bombings and massacres to publishing literary works and training future journalists.
Despite enduring immense challenges, including bombings, kidnappings, and restrictions imposed by the Syrian regime and other factions, these women have refused to be silenced. Al-Ali and Rahman’s firsthand accounts reveal how they combined journalism with survival, balancing responsibilities as mothers while documenting displacement and terror. Meanwhile, Totenji expanded her efforts into literature and media training, ensuring that the stories of Syria’s revolution and its people are not forgotten.
Alabi underscores that these women have not only chronicled Syria’s painful history but have also paved the way for a more inclusive future. As Alabi concludes, the sacrifices of these journalists highlight their demand for a vital role in shaping Syria’s post-conflict society. Read the full article on The Media Line for an in-depth exploration of these stories.
Source: themedialine.org
https://themedialine.org/mideast-daily-news/syrian-women-journalists-risk-all-to-chronicle-war-survival/
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Drug Trafficking: Saudi Arabia Sets Free 3 Nigerian Women
January 6, 2025
The Nigerian government has secured the release of three Nigerian women arrested over drug trafficking on the 5th of March 2024 at Prince Mohammad bin Abdul Azeez International Airport Madinah, Saudi Arabia.
The women, Hadiza Abba, Fatima Umate Malah, and Fatima Kannai Gamboi were set free after 10 months in detention.
This is contained in a statement signed by acting spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, and made available to AIT on Sunday.
According to the statement, the arrest of the three women was as a result of the earlier arrest of two Nigerian nationals found in possession of 150 capsules of cocaine weighing 1689.33 grammes.
The three women were detained by the Saudi authorities on suspicion of being accomplices in the trafficking of the banned substance found on the aforementioned arrested Nigerians.
The statement added that the successful release was achieved after a prolonged diplomatic and legal engagements, which culminated in their discharge and acquittal and subsequent handover to the Consulate-General of Nigeria in Jedda.
Source: ait.live
https://ait.live/drug-trafficking-saudi-arabia-sets-free-3-nigerian-women/
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/across-globe-targets-women-politicians/d/134258