Diasporic social media activism as discursive resistance: Afghan women contest the Taliban’s strategic narratives

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.