The Role of Social Media on Women's Movements in Afghanistan (August 2021-December 2025)

When the Taliban took over Afghanistan again in August 2021, they ruled it illegal for women to work, go to school, or hold public office. As public spaces are pressed, online organizations have become important locations for resistance, documentation, survival, and activity around the world. This study investigates the utilization of social media platforms by women of Afghanistan to sustain their journeys from August 2021 to December 2025 in the context of state persecution, employing observations and resources in English, Persian/Dari, and Pashto. This study utilizes feminist political sociology, theories of communicative action, and digital repression to demonstrate how social media facilitated gendered digital labor, augmented surveillance, propagated disinformation, and heightened visibility, while simultaneously bolstering economic resilience and enabling covert education. This study enhances global sociology by situating digital resistance within the framework of gender apartheid.