Abstract
The proliferation of the internet has shown promises and ‘potentials’ of empowering women
in ways that are unimaginable in most patriarchal societies. Politics, activism and engagements
through technology seem to have been gendered spaces as evidenced by research in the
developing world (Harris, 2008; Keller, 2012; Morahan-Martin, 2000). This chapter attempts
to demystify this rather ‘silent’ myth, especially in the African context that the internet as well
as technological activism and political domains are solely meant for men. To do this, I will
discuss activism in support of women’s issues in Zimbabwe through a single case study
approach. Specific attention is paid to the website Her Zimbabwe, a novel website which
attempts to empower women as citizens, giving them a platform to speak on issues otherwise
ignored in mainstream media or frowned upon by society. The site uses material from citizen
journalists i.e bloggers and readers who comment under blog stories which compose an
alternative public sphere to the mainstream one and to a certain extent officialised public sphere
dominated by mainstream media. Her Zimbabwe, as the name suggests, focuses entirely on
women’s issues giving women, as citizens, a platform to speak and articulate their issues which
seem to be ignored by society, industry, policy makers and the media. The site has a lot of
content on women’s issues especially from ‘feminist’ bloggers. Methodologically this study
will use purposive sampling to select material that speaks to issues of women activism since
2012 and these will be subjected to critical discourse analysis, an analytic approach that
critiques power, its distribution and imbalances. Theoretically the chapter is anchored on the
issue of the voice in counter-digital public spheres.