Nearly 80% of respondents to a BBC World News survey think the answer is yes. This response is coming at a time when people in as disparate countries as Mexico, Japan and Russia express the opinion that they simply cannot cope without the internet. But can access to the net really be compared to some of our basic human rights like access to food, water or shelter?

Our human rights map shows women across the world fighting to uphold the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, here’s just one:

Celebrating Women: Monica Carillo – Human rights activist, Peru

On 8 March, International Women’s Day, the world will celebrate women and their achievements past, present and future. This is one day to recognize the work that women, the world over, do to improve their lives, the lives of their families and the lives of their communities. Women like Monica Carrilo. Monica is a human rights activist in Peru who works with some of her country’s most neglected citizens, young Afro-Peruvian women, to empower them to build a better future.

Rights and Democracy call are calling for nominations for the 2010 John Humphrey Award. John Peter Humphrey, a human rights lawyer from Canada prepared the first draft of the Universal Declaration of Human rights