@article{farooqDiasporicSocialMedia2026,
    title = {Diasporic Social Media Activism as Discursive Resistance: {{Afghan}
             } Women Contest the {{Taliban}}'s Strategic Narratives},
    shorttitle = {Diasporic Social Media Activism as Discursive Resistance},
    author = {Farooq, Saadia and Newsom, Victoria A. and Lengel, Lara Martin},
    year = 2026,
    month = apr,
    journal = {Online Media and Global Communication},
    volume = {5},
    number = {1},
    pages = {44--82},
    issn = {2749-9049},
    doi = {10.1515/omgc-2025-0073},
    urldate = {2026-07-13},
    abstract = {Abstract Purpose This study examines how women in the Afghan
                diaspora deploy social media activism as discursive resistance
                against the Taliban's strategic narratives following the 2021
                resurgence of Taliban rule. It investigates how Afghan women
                within the diaspora and inside Afghanistan use social media
                visibility to contest discursive cleansing and erasure, reclaim
                suppressed voices, and reassert their identities within
                transnational public spheres. Design/methodology/approach
                Critical discourse analysis and visual rhetorical approaches were
                used to analyze Twitter/X and Instagram posts ( n ~=~1,833) that
                include the hashtag, \#DoNotTouchMyClothes, depicting Afghan
                women's activism in both local and diasporic contexts. Findings
                The study identifies Afghan women's hashtag activism as both
                means of cultural resistance and global solidarity. Women inside
                Afghanistan use digital platforms as safer spaces for
                community-building and protest, while diasporic voices amplify
                these narratives. Although online resistance is limited by
                surveillance, repression, and risks of misinformation, Afghan
                women's discursive practices destabilize Taliban efforts at
                erasure, asserting agency and visibility. Practical implications
                The findings highlight how digital activism enables Afghan women
                to navigate extreme authoritarian restrictions, providing
                insights into how activists in repressive regimes can leverage
                social media for advocacy. The study underscores the importance
                of preserving digital records of marginalized voices to resist
                erasure and discursive cleansing. Social implications Afghan
                women's digital activism contributes to sustaining cultural
                memory, solidarity, and global awareness despite local silencing.
                Their resistance challenges gender apartheid and authoritarianism
                , offering models of resilience for other oppressed communities.
                Originality/value This study extends scholarship on digital
                diasporas and social media by foregrounding Afghan women's
                counter-narratives as a form of discursive resistance. It
                emphasizes intersections of digital activism, feminist theory,
                and diaspora studies, documenting how diasporic and in-country
                voices together contest authoritarian discursive cleansing. By
                situating Afghan women's activism within the global diaspora and
                its digital practices, this study contributes to broader
                understandings of how social media mediates diasporic experiences
                , identity negotiations, and political participation under
                conditions of authoritarian control. Afghan women's digital
                resistance should thus be recognized as a critical site for
                advancing diaspora studies, feminist communication studies, and
                areas studies of the broader Middle East, North Africa,
                Afghanistan, and Pakistan region.},
    copyright = {http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0},
    langid = {english},
}