Mobilizing for Justice: Social Media as a Transformational Tool for Student Activism in Pakistan

The last three years have seen an alarming rise in surveillance of students on and off campus. The government has continued to use draconian clauses in the penal code such as “sedition”, “maintenance of public order”, “nuisance”, and “continuation nuisance” (“Pakistan: End crackdown on student protests.” Amnesty International. December 1, 2019. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/12/pakistan-end-crackdown-on-student-protests/ ) to crackdown on student activism, putting the lives of peaceful protestors in jeopardy. The roadblocks placed by the authorities on protests have led student activists to rely on social media as a tool for political mobilization. In the absence of any coverage in mainstream media, social media has transformed the landscape of political protest. Different student groups, most notably the Progressive Students Collective (PSC), have used Twitter and Facebook to highlight issues such as unfair fee hikes during the Covid-19 pandemic, the disadvantages of online classes for students with little to no internet access, as well as garnered popular support for the restoration of student unions. This study analyzes how individuals and student-based organizations use social media to engage in political protest against educational policies, focusing on key developments from November 2019 to April 2021 in Pakistan. The analysis relies on data collected from Twitter and Facebook, including popular trends and “viral” posts (Hassan, Shiraz. Twitter Post. November 17 2019, 9:26 PM. https://twitter.com/ShirazHassan/status/1196102270317928450 ) their impact on influencing government decision-making, recruiting new members to the student movement, and backlash received by dissenters online. Interviews of student organizers involved in these campaigns will be used to supplement Facebook and Twitter analysis by providing a nuanced understanding of how virtual protest can influence institutional politics by generating “symbolic change, coordinating action, and keeping issues in the news and in the broader political conversation.” (Wolfson, T. Digital Rebellion: The Birth of the Cyber Left. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2014).