MEDIA SPACE AS A FIELD OF ARTICULATION AND LEGITIMATION: AN ANALYSIS OF THE DIGITAL PRACTICES OF BATYRJAMAL AND SCHITAETSYA.KZ

• Gaziza Ulikmanov

  L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University

  Author

In the context of the digitalization of public communication, social networks and online platforms are increasingly becoming important spaces for civic participation and the formation of public agendas. Digital women’s activism plays a particularly significant role in this process, as it enables the articulation of previously marginalized issues, including gender-based violence, social inequality, and women’s subjectivity. In the Kazakhstani context, media space functions not only as a channel for information dissemination but also as an environment for the formation of collective experience, solidarity, and the institutional recognition of social problems.

The aim of this article is to analyze how digital media platforms become spaces for the articulation and legitimation of women’s activism in Kazakhstan. The empirical basis of the study consists of publications and user comments from two Kazakhstani Instagram projects — BatyrJamal and schitaetsya.kz — representing different strategies of digital activism. The methodological framework of the study is based on qualitative content analysis of media posts and audience comments.

The results demonstrate that media space performs a dual function. On the one hand, it enables the articulation of personal experiences through narratives of vulnerability, support, and everyday autonomy. On the other hand, it contributes to the institutional legitimation of social issues through statistical data, legal explanations, and expert interpretations.

The comparative analysis reveals two complementary strategies of digital women’s activism — expressive and institutional-analytical models. Their interaction allows media space to be conceptualized as an infrastructure of subjectivity, enabling the transformation of individual experiences into elements of a stable public agenda and the institutional recognition of gender issues in Kazakhstan.

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