VC Faculty Lounge, Academic Block, LUMS
ABSTRACT
In contemporary digital cultures, online visibility functions as both a mode of empowerment and a site of vulnerability. The act of speaking publicly on social media is never neutral, it is mediated through intersecting structures of patriarchy, polarised politics, surveillance, and class that shape who is heard, who is dismissed, and who becomes a target of harassment. Across Pakistan and beyond, digital platforms have emerged as contested political arenas where dissent, critique, and advocacy coexist with surveillance, trolling, and coordinated disinformation.
This panel brought together three outspoken commentators who have each faced backlash for their identity, work, content, or politics. Through their stories, the conversation explored how backlash diverges across identities, how online cultures in Pakistan shape these dynamics, and what it takes to keep speaking out in spaces that can turn volatile in an instant. The discussion pushed us to think critically about digital speech, structural bias, and the strategies of participation in an increasingly polarised political landscape.
