Feminist Movements, Solidarity and Protest Politics in the Global South

Abstract

This panel employs an intricate set of methodologies, social media analysis, and analysis of traditional practices and the centrality of women’s roles in larger political protest movements, women’s rights activism, and solidarity in the global south. In this panel, several paper contributions provide a compelling review of sovereignty politics in the global south. Dr. Inshah Malik’s paper employs feminist political theory to scrutinize the intricate power dynamics, structures, and motivations shaping women’s rights movements in the Kashmir region, Iran, and Afghanistan. In an interesting contribution from Zeynep Gulru Goker et al., they explore how gender equality advocates in Turkish local governance counter anti-gender mobilizations. Drawing on municipal reports and interviews in 8 cities, it shows the institutional strategies and discursive frameworks employed by local government actors to shape urban politics from a gender perspective. Zahra Edalati et al. will explore the women-life-freedom movement in Iran in 2022. Focused on digital activism, particularly Tiktok, this paper explores how users, including Iranian women, leverage the platform for global solidarity and transnational feminist activism. Analyzing 106 top-ranked videos under the hashtag #MahsaAmini, the study employs visual rhetorical analysis, an embodied feminist framework, and an epistemic governance framework. It highlights the persuasive strategies content creators employ on TikTok to engage viewers, inspire solidarity, and elicit moral commitment. Furthermore, Avantika Tiwari explores the Pinjra Tod movement in India, led by young women at Delhi University, protesting against stringent hostel curfews and limitations on women's mobility. Focusing on the interplay between normative social codes and state sovereignty, it critically examines the structural contradictions of liberal legal ideology. Her paper further uses women's movements in India to scrutinize the hostel curfew as a legal 'exception,' revealing insights into citizenship, rights, and law. Sabeena Shahin’s study explores the age-old Kashmiri tradition of Gul Muth, where women exchange money on occasions like marriages or achievements. The paper examines how women navigate the freedoms and limitations associated with Gul Muth, proposing to interpret this practice as a form of feminist solidarity at the subaltern level, demonstrating how women, while not explicitly identifying as feminists, contribute to a broader movement. Overall, the panel appears to focus on the intersection of women and protests in various geopolitical contexts. The research questions suggest an exploration of women's roles and agency within different forms of activism, including protests. The panel collectively seeks to understand the dynamics of women's participation, resilience, and transformative roles within the context of protests and broader women's rights movements as an attempt of producing a gendered sovereignty.

Title	Details
Gendered Soveriegnty in Women's protests in the Global South	View Paper Details
Shifting Sand Dunes of Sovereignty: Lessons in Political Organizing from Women’s Hostels in Delhi	View Paper Details
Local Politics and Anti-Gender Mobilizations: Municipalities’ Strategies to Fight for Gender Equality	View Paper Details
Improving Social lives: Money, Community, and Feminist Solidarity in Kashmir	View Paper Details