The role of digital platforms in amplifying silenced voices

Abstract

The paper examines the role of digital platforms in amplifying the voices of marginalized Muslim women, as presented in Sherine Hafez's (2018) biographical memoir, Women of the Midan, as a central case study. The aim is to analyse how digital platforms facilitated the articulation of political aspirations, challenge patriarchal structures and construct alternative narratives of selfhood and agency among Egyptian Muslim women during the Egyptian revolution. The paper analyses how platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and blogs enabled Muslim women activists to bypass state-controlled media.  It also documents human rights abuses and share personal experiences of these women with a global audience. This highlights the complexities and limitations of digital activism in this context and   assesses the overall impact of digital platforms in empowering Muslim women in Egypt to reclaim their voices, assert their agency and contribute to broader social and political change.  This study adopts a qualitative interpretive approach, drawing on critical discourse analysis (CDA) and feminist media studies and entails close reading and textual analysis of Hafez's (2018) biographical memoir. Ultimately, the paper argues that digital platforms, despite their inherent risks and limitations, provides a crucial space for these women, offering valuable lessons for understanding the evolving dynamics of gender, religion, and digital activism in contemporary society.