Gendered Digital Harassment of Tanzanian Female Members of Parliament on Instagram

Digital harassment has emerged as a significant form of gendered political violence that constrains women’s participation in democratic processes. This article refines and strengthens insights drawn from an existing qualitative research report that examined digital harassment directed at female Members of Parliament (MPs) in Tanzania on Instagram. Guided by Feminist Standpoint Theory, the study conceptualises online harassment as a gendered extension of offline power relations reproduced through platform affordances and socio-political norms. Using qualitative content analysis of Instagram comments and interpretive insights from the original research, the paper analyses the dominant forms of harassment, the structural and platform-related drivers that sustain it, and the implications for women’s political participation. The findings show that harassment is systematic rather than incidental, manifesting through performance-based abusive criticism, personal insults, political misogyny, sexualised commentary, and delegitimising attacks. These practices are reinforced by patriarchal norms, political polarisation, anonymity, misinformation, and weak platform and legal responses. The article strengthens the analytical contribution of the original report by situating the findings more firmly within feminist and political communication scholarship and by clarifying their theoretical, practical, and policy relevance.