In recent years, blogging has steadily cemented its position as a new and hip form of communication for millions of Americans who read or write blogs. Everyone from the hormonal high schooler to your grandmother can create one in minutes to begin blogging their way to fame.

Unlike other forms of media that seem too regulated from higher-ups, blogging gives average Joes across the world a soapbox to speak from, and gives everyone else a much-needed chance to hear what those people are saying. But is it safe to blog? Recent trends indicate that discussion about how to protect bloggers across the globe from varying degrees of harassment is in order.

Blogging, like newspaper writing, civil protesting or even having a conversation, has gotten people into some predicaments that Americans should be worried about, especially if they like to engage in online communication. According to a story in the Washington Post, some female bloggers have been harassed for blogging their two cents in the cyberworld. Unfortunately, the problem extends beyond America's borders, with some very disturbing consequences.

According to the article, several women have been harassed. A woman who blogged about the porn industry got threatened with rape, one who wrote about the trials of being a single mother was threatened by a stalker and another who wrote about design software was targeted with threatening pictures and messages.

After such experiences, some women stop blogging, censor themselves, use gender-neutral pseudonyms or restrict comments on their work, according to the article.

Strange? Not really. Women have always been a favorite target for various forms of harassment, and persistent people have found a new way to harass them by attacking their blogs.

Worrisome? Absolutely. Although online harassment and stalking is nothing new, especially not for women, the trend to stifle online communication is stepping on the toes of a lot of different people, and not just American women. The challenges these women face have been limited to threats, but bloggers across the world have had to deal with more serious repercussions.

In the Middle East, blogging has become a safe haven from authoritarian governments that monitor political and social activism in their countries. According to a story on Arab Media and Society, the number of Egyptian blogs has ballooned from about 100 to about 3,000 since 2004. Younger generations familiar with the Internet and increasingly frustrated with the political old guard have driven the movement into the spotlight.

Twenty-five-year-old Egyptian blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah was imprisoned in 2006 for showing up at a demonstration in Cairo to support other activists who were taking a stand against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's dictatorial treatment of the judiciary, according to a PBS feature. He managed to smuggle blog posts out of prison that were posted to the Arabic/English Web site he runs with his wife.

Saudi bloggers recently shunned their government and created their own organization. Women across the Middle East post pictures and blog about sexual harassment, personal lives, work experiences and cultural debates.

During the paralyzing war in Lebanon last summer that restricted access and made reporting dangerous, bloggers inside the country posted pictures and stories online that were seen by millions watching the war unfold.

Across the globe, blogging has become a safe forum for oppressed voices to be heard. If Americans are struggling with harassment for partaking in this form of communication, the consequences for blogging abroad can only be worse, yet it's often the voices that are being stifled that we need to be listening to and supporting.

Reach columnist Hanady Kader at opinion@thedaily.washington.edu.