Beyond Silence - Representations of Afghan Women's Voices on X After the Taliban Takeover in 2021.
Author
Berg, Katrine Marie Hald
Term
4. semester
Education
Publication year
2025
Submitted on
2025-05-28
Abstract
Efter Talibans magtovertagelse i 2021 er afghanske kvinders rettigheder og offentlige deltagelse blevet kraftigt indskrænket, samtidig med at sociale medier som X (tidligere Twitter) er blevet centrale steder, hvor billeder af deres stemmer cirkulerer og diskuteres. Denne afhandling undersøger, hvordan afghanske kvinders stemmer fremstilles på X efter 2021, og hvordan disse fremstillinger former mulighederne for at blive hørt og mobilisere online. Studiet er kvalitativt og bygger på netnografi af X-opslag fra 2021 under fire hashtags (#AfghanWomen, #LetAfghanGirlsLearn, #EndGenderApartheid, #FreeAfghanWomen), analyseret gennem Carol Bacchis WPR-tilgang og et feministisk postkolonialt perspektiv inspireret af Gayatri Spivak og Chandra Talpade Mohanty. Af hensyn til databegrænsninger og platformens vilkår fortolkes opslagene som fremstillinger af afghanske kvinders stemmer frem for direkte vidnesbyrd, med fokus på, hvordan de skaber politiske muligheder online. Analysen identificerer fire dominerende diskurser—handlekraft, offergørelse, international intervention og lokal modstandskraft—der på én gang kan give synlighed og risikerer at ensrette fortællinger om afghanske kvinder, hvilket indsnævrer, hvordan de kan fremstå som politiske subjekter. Resultaterne peger på, at disse fremstillinger er flettet sammen med postkoloniale magtstrukturer, som former, hvem der bliver hørt, og hvilke sprog for modstand der legitimeres. Afhandlingen bidrager med en nuanceret forståelse af forholdet mellem synlighed og tavshed i digitale rum og fremhæver behovet for at styrke marginaliserede stemmer uden at reproducere hegemoniske diskurser.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, Afghan women’s rights and public participation have been severely restricted, while social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) have become key arenas where representations of their voices circulate and are contested. This thesis examines how Afghan women’s voices are represented on X after 2021 and how these representations shape the possibilities for them to be heard and mobilize online. It is a qualitative study using netnography of 2021 posts on X under four hashtags (#AfghanWomen, #LetAfghanGirlsLearn, #EndGenderApartheid, #FreeAfghanWomen), analyzed through Carol Bacchi’s WPR approach and a feminist postcolonial lens drawing on Gayatri Spivak and Chandra Talpade Mohanty. Given platform constraints and limited profile transparency, posts are interpreted as representations rather than direct testimonies, with attention to how they construct political possibilities in digital spaces. The analysis identifies four dominant discourses—agency, victimhood, international intervention, and local resilience—that can amplify visibility but also risk homogenizing portrayals of Afghan women, narrowing how they can appear as political subjects. The findings show these representations are entangled with postcolonial power structures that shape who is heard and what languages of resistance are recognized. The thesis contributes a nuanced account of the tension between visibility and silencing online and underscores the need to amplify marginalized voices while resisting the reproduction of hegemonic narratives.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
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