Abstract:

This paper explores the phenomenon of online activism aimed at combatting gender-based violence against women in two countries of contemporary Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Extending the argument advanced by scholars like Mpofu (2023) that digital media have enabled women to engage and disseminate counter-discourses to resist their subjugation and claim power, we argue that digital activism can act as sites of contestation, where women take positions and can influence wider publics. Using Thematic Analysis as a research approach, we show how individual digital activists develop digital subjectivity and engage in the new politics of gender justice. Our second finding illustrates how their labor is emotional, precarious and invisible. Third, our analysis shows some potential for conflict, because activists participate in a politics of representation which may perpetuate digital divide and enhance power relations among the different sections of their audiences.