Getting Connected? The politics of mobilizing a transnational feminist response to the war on terror

Authors

Krista Hunt

Abstract

This paper examines the essential role that the Internet has played in mobilizing a transnational feminist response to the war on terror. The use of the Internet by the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) and feminists opposed to the war on terror exemplify the power of this technology to give voice to women who have in many different ways been silenced off-line. This timely case study illustrates how crucial the Internet can be to gain international attention regarding human rights abuses, to solicit transnational support, and to provide an international forum for those who are politically disenfranchised. However, the Internet remains a tool that only women with the privilege of connection hold – a privilege that runs along lines of gender, class, race, and location. As such, the potential to use the Internet to fight for women’s rights must be weighed against issues of unequal access and the politics of knowledge production that structure the digital divide between women. In particular, feminists must resist equating RAWA as the ‘authentic’ voice of Afghan women just because this is the predominant group garnering international attention

Recommended Citation

Hunt, Krista (2005) "Getting Connected? The politics of mobilizing a transnational feminist response to the war on terror," Wagadu: A Journal of Transnational Women's & Gender Studies: Vol. 2: Iss. 1, Article 7.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.cortland.edu/wagadu/vol2/iss1/7