Unheard voices as “counter narratives”: Digital storytelling as a way of empowering Muslim women

Abstract

The paper investigates the use of digital storytelling as a means of empowering Muslim women. It examines how digital stories are used as “counter narratives” by Muslim women to refute dominant “public narratives” and resist stereotypes and taken-for-granted assumptions. “Narrating” or “storytelling” is a powerful mode that can be used in the struggle of changing stereotypes. Currently, in the digital era where we live, stories are narrated digitally. The study draws on “narrative theory” and “multimodal discourse analysis” (MDA). Narrative theory analyzes the “narratives” evoked in the digital stories under analysis, while MDA examines both verbal and non-verbal elements used to support the narratives evoked by the storytellers. The paper analyzes five TED talks by Muslim women posted on YouTube between the year 2015 and 2017. The analysis is conducted on three stages. First, narratives that sustain patterns of “domination and marginalization” are examined, then both non-verbal and verbal elements are investigated. Based on the analysis, the study finds that digital stories construct a new “narrative” through the use of various verbal and non-verbal strategies to counter dominant “public narratives”. As such the study demonstrates that digital media paved the way for “unheard voices” of Muslim women to gain legitimacy and currency. It shows that digital stories are used as a powerful tool for empowering Muslim women in refuting misconceptions and establishing a new “narrative” of their own that challenges the stereotypes and creates a better future where diversity and acceptance can prevail.