{"id":70,"date":"2021-10-12T08:51:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-12T06:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpmu.mau.se\/nmict21group5\/?p=70"},"modified":"2024-04-19T12:00:25","modified_gmt":"2024-04-19T10:00:25","slug":"donottouchmyclothes-protest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpmu.mau.se\/nmict21group5\/2021\/10\/12\/donottouchmyclothes-protest\/","title":{"rendered":"#DoNotTouchMyClothes protest"},"content":{"rendered":"
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#AfghanWomen<\/em><\/strong> post pictures of themselves wearing traditional attire<\/strong> on Twitter and Instagram seeking to defend the image of a woman in #AfghanistanCulture<\/em>. This social media campaign of the recent months seeks to address current human right violations and gender-directed restrictions imposed by the Taliban rule. How do ICTs (information and communication technologies) empower women who are \u201cliving challenging lives in difficult contexts\u201d (O\u2019Donnell and Sweetman, 2018, p.220)?<\/p>\n

Expat voices<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The online protest<\/strong> revolves around #DoNotTouchMyClothes<\/em><\/a> and #AfghanistanCulture<\/a><\/em> hashtags. It was started in September, following women led street demonstrations in major cities in Afghanistan, by an international development expert and gender specialist, former history professor at the American University in Kabul Dr. Bahar Jalali (see her Twitter<\/a> and LinkedIn<\/a> profiles). Dr. Jalali is now based in Baltimore where she is affiliated with the Loyola University Maryland (check out their respective interview from 23 September, 2021 here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

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Tweet by @RoxanaBahar1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Breaking news<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u201cAs a key instrument for publicity, journalism helps recognize and legitimize human rights violations as they unfold. In this sense, it gives human rights collectives a vehicle for immediacy, recognition, and agenda setting while also serving as a platform for branding and fund-raising\u201d (Ristovska, 2021, p.178).<\/em><\/p>\n

Back in mid-September I came across this campaign while casually scrolling through my feed on Instagram. The Guardian post<\/a> I first saw presented its article reporting on<\/a> <\/strong>the #DoNotTouchMyClothes<\/em> campaign. The post has since received more than 48k likes.<\/p>\n

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Instagram post by The Guardian<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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This protest is an example of how \u201conline communications can post breaking news and almost instantaneously create movements to challenge injustices\u201d (O\u2019Donnell and Sweetman, 2018, p.224). Traditional media picks up on online activism and then their messages make international headlines<\/strong>. Here are some examples:<\/p>\n