Dipika Pandey Represents India at International Event on GBV

By: WE staff | Wednesday, 29 October 2025

• Dipika Pandey Singh, Minister of Jharkhand, went to an international conference in Lucerne, Switzerland
• The conference, which took place on October 24–25, was on Feminist Political Leadership and Peace
• 47 countries were represented by women parliamentarians and leaders

The Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister of Jharkhand, Dipika Pandey Singh, has come back to the state after presenting India at an international conference on Advancing Feminist Political Leadership and Securing Peace on October 24–25 in Lucerne, Switzerland.

The platform brought together parliamentarians and women leaders from 47 nations to make an effort to strengthen feminist leadership and build global peace by inclusive policy-making.

In her speech on "Combating Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence — The Role of Parliamentarians," Dipika pointed out the increasing threat of digital abuse of women.

She termed online gender-based violence as a worldwide concern that erodes democratic engagement and suppresses women's voices.

She stressed the importance of the internet being used as an environment for empowerment and not for harm and demanded global acknowledgement of technology-facilitated abuse as a significant hindrance to equality and public engagement.

Referring to Indian data, Dipika said that a majority of 85 percent of women in India has been subjected to some type of online abuse, yet only 30 percent report this to the authorities.

She explained that the disparity highlights a demand for increased digital security procedures and better trust in reporting processes.

She proposed a tripartite framework to combat the issue—increasing digital literacy, enhancing accountability of offenders and digital platforms in the legal system, and increasing women’s participation in shaping technology and policy guidelines.

Dipika argued that online harassment against women leaders and public figures should constitute an attack on democratic values.

She provided several concrete measures that the national parliaments could adopt, including through implementing gender sensitive codes of conduct, funding cyber helpdesks, and rolling-out awareness programmes that encourage respectful and safe online interactions.

At the same time, Singh was excited to help contribute to the Congress Plenary of Switzerland’s Social Democratic Party (SDP) around the ideas of radical government, social justice and women’s representation at decision-making tables.

Overall, Singh articulated, making sure that women feel safe, both online and offline, establishes stronger societies and more resilient democracies.