-
Full text
-
48
University of Bayreuth
African Studies
WORKING PAPERS
“Are they just for venting out?”
Exploring discourses on women-only Facebook Groups on
television talk show programs in Egypt
Shaden Kamel, 2024
works! 18
University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers (XLVIII)
48
University of Bayreuth
African Studies
WORKING PAPERS
“Are they just for venting out?”
Exploring discourses on women-only Facebook
Groups on television talk show programs in Egypt
CC-BY 4.0
Shaden Kamel, 2024
ii
“Are they just for venting out?”
University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers (XLVIII)
Institute of African Studies (IAS)
The University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers are published by the Institute of African
Studies (IAS) in Bayreuth, Germany.
The IAS promotes African Studies at the University of Bayreuth by supporting scholars from a
wide range of academic disciplines from almost all faculties. It facilitates cooperation between
researchers and institutions engaged in Africa-related projects, as well as teaching, both on
campus and around the world. The IAS consists of three central bodies: the Iwalewahaus, the
Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence, and the Africa Research Center (Forschungszentrum Afrika),
which is currently under construction.
The Working Papers give scholars the space to present empirical studies, theoretical reflections,
and report preliminary findings, ongoing projects, and current research. The Working Papers
usually reflect works-in-progress and invite discussion and feedback.
Submitted papers are subject to internal review at the University of Bayreuth. Contributions may
be submitted to the editor-in-chief: Dr. Malick Faye (IAS@uni-bayreuth.de)
The University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers feature on the EPub document server
at the university library:
2005 - 2018
https://epub.uni-bayreuth.de/view/series/Bayreuth_African_Studies_Working_Papers.html
2018 - ongoing
https://epub.uni-
bayreuth.de/view/series/University_of_Bayreuth_African_Studies_Working_Papers.html
Institute of African Studies
Director: Prof. Dr. Gabriele Sommer
Vice-Director: Prof. Dr. Stefan Ouma
University of Bayreuth
Wölfelstr. 2
D-95440 Bayreuth
Phone: +49 (0)921 554511
Fax: +49 (0)921 554502
www.ias.uni-bayreuth.de
IAS@uni-bayreuth.de
“Are they just for venting out?” iii
University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers (XLVIII)
BIGSASworks!
The Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies (BIGSAS) was founded in 2007 and
is part of the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence since 2019. It is funded by the German Research
Foundation in the framework of the Excellence Strategy of the German Federal and State
Governments. In the focus of this unique structure of multi- and interdisciplinary, creative and
innovative training are around 90 doctoral candidates, the Junior Fellows, from more than 25
African, American, Asian and European countries.
BIGSASworks! is part of the University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers and highlights
the academic contributions of BIGSAS doctoral candidates. The working papers provide the
opportunity to pre-publish research following internal peer advice. BIGSASworks! working
papers are edited by BIGSAS Junior Fellows with the support of BIGSAS and the Institute of African
Studies.
BIGSASworks! Series Editors
Usman Ahmad
Monika Christine Rohmer
Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies
Dean: Prof. Dr. Susanne Mühleisen
Deputy Head: Prof. Dr Alexander Stroh-Steckelberg
University of Bayreuth
Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 3
D - 95440 Bayreuth
Phone: +49 (0)921 55 5101
www.bigsas.uni-bayreuth.de
bigsas@uni-bayreuth.de
iv
“Are they just for venting out?”
University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers (XLVIII)
About the Author
Shaden Kamel is a Media Studies doctoral researcher and Junior Fellow at the Bayreuth
International Graduate School of African Studies. She holds a master’s in media and global
communication from the University of Helsinki. Kamel’s current research explores women-only
Facebook groups as a popular communication phenomenon in Egypt. Her research interests are
digital and popular culture, particularly internet-based trends, online community formations, and
gender in the MENA region.
“Are they just for venting out?” v
University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers (XLVIII)
Abstract
In Egypt, many women have created various private Facebook groups for women only to support
women. As exclusive spaces for women, these Facebook groups enabled women in Egypt to share
their experiences and quickly became a source of awareness. Concurrently, their proliferation and
popularity as spaces exclusively encompassing thousands of women have attracted extensive
mass media coverage in Egypt, particularly from talk show programs. Accordingly, this article uses
critical discourse analysis to explore the discourses on popular women-only Facebook groups in
mainstream talk show programs in Egypt. Ten talk show program videos were analyzed to
identify the discourses on these Facebook groups. The article displays conversations from four
talk show program segments to showcase two prevalent and simultaneous discourses. The first
discourse conveys a moral panic over these Facebook groups for enabling women to discuss
problems on matters of the private sphere. Conversely, the second discourse conveys an
embracement of Facebook group creators’ entrepreneurial practices manifested from their
Facebook group. Subsequently, these two discourses are critically analyzed by drawing on
literature on gendered dynamics of the private and public spheres in Egypt and postfeminism in
connection with commercial media logic.
Keywords: Talk shows, media discourses, Facebook groups, women-only spaces, television,
Egypt
vi
“Are they just for venting out?”
University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers (XLVIII)
Résumé
En Égypte, de nombreuses femmes ont créé divers groupes Facebook privés réservés aux femmes
afin de les soutenir. En tant qu'espaces exclusivement réservés aux femmes, ces groupes Facebook
ont permis aux femmes égyptiennes de partager leurs expériences et sont rapidement devenus
une source de sensibilisation. Parallèlement, leur prolifération et leur popularité en tant
qu'espaces regroupant exclusivement des milliers de femmes ont attiré une vaste couverture
médiatique en Égypte, en particulier dans le cadre d'émissions-débats. En conséquence, cet article
utilise l'analyse critique du discours pour explorer les discours sur les groupes Facebook
populaires réservés aux femmes dans les programmes de talk-show grand public en Égypte. Dix
vidéos de talk-shows ont été analysées pour identifier les discours sur ces groupes Facebook.
L'article présente des conversations tirées de quatre segments de talk-show afin de mettre en
évidence deux discours prédominants et simultanés. Le premier discours fait état d'une panique
morale à l'égard de ces groupes Facebook qui permettent aux femmes de discuter de problèmes
relevant de la sphère privée. À l'inverse, le second discours fait état d'une adhésion aux pratiques
entrepreneuriales des créatrices de groupes Facebook qui se manifestent à travers leur groupe
Facebook. Par la suite, ces deux discours sont analysés de manière critique en s'appuyant sur la
littérature relative aux dynamiques sexuées des sphères privée et publique en Égypte et au
postféminisme en lien avec la logique des médias commerciaux.
Mots-clés : Talk-shows, discours médiatiques, groupes Facebook, espaces réservés aux femmes,
télévision, Égypte
University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers (XLVIII)
CONTENTS
Institute of African Studies (IAS)
ii
BIGSASworks!
iii
About the Author
iv
Abstract
v
Résumé
vi
1 Introduction
1
2 Literature Review
2
2.1 Virtual Spaces and Women
2
2.2 Broadcast Media structure and Women
4
3 Method of Data collection and Analysis
4
4 Results: Moral Panic Vs. Embracement
6
5 Discussion
9
6 Conclusion
13
7 References
14
10 Latest UBT African studies working papers
18
University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers (XLVIII)
“Are they just for venting out?”
Exploring discourses on women-only Facebook
Groups on television talk show programs in Egypt
Shaden Kamel
1 Introduction
Technological shifts have brought interesting reflections regarding the rise of “ideas, identities,
and discourses” in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) public sphere (Skalli 2006: 35). For
instance, Ayish and AlNajjar (2009) shed light on the way forms of digital communication, such as
satellite television and the internet, have contributed to noteworthy social and cultural shifts,
particularly for the millennials in the region (26). They noted that young social influencers are
gradually developing and shaping the content and form of the virtual sphere to influence society
by conveying a combination of local and global discourses surrounding issues such as human
challenges and women empowerment. However, Skalli (2006) argued that studies on the
technological transformations of MENA’s public sphere fall short in considering the multifaceted
positions women and the media engage in within the region. She further argued within a context
of longstanding obstacles that restrict women’s physical mobility and visibility, access to new
media tools has enabled women in the process of getting involved in “shaping, impacting and
redefining the public sphere” (36).
Indeed, mobile phone penetration in the MENA region has clearly increased women’s access to
the internet and, thus, the prospect of getting engaged in various forms of communication
(Sreberny 2015: 358). Within the context of Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
infrastructure and access advancement in Egypt, despite gender disparities in the usage of ICT
tools, the percentage of internet usage for social media participation among males and females in
Egypt is relatively close, with 91.6% for males compared to 89.9% for females (Ministry of
2
“Are they just for venting out?”
University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers (XLVIII)
Communications and Information Technology 2021). These figures signify the potentiality of
social media usage for women in Egypt.
The proliferation of popular Facebook (FB) groups created by women for women in Egypt
provides an interesting empirical case of a particular form of popular communication
phenomenon in the region. They provide a space where women can converse, seek, and offer
support on various topics that concern and interest them, such as marital and familial issues,
motherhood, fashion, and lifestyle. Concurrently, the popularity of these FB groups as spaces that
encompass tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of women has attracted extensive mass
media coverage in Egypt, particularly from local mainstream talk show television programs.
Considering how influential women-only Facebook groups are for being prevalently used by
women in concurrence with talk show programs' persistence in being instrumental platforms for
leading news stories and providing Egyptians with the latest information (Barakat 2022), this
article relevantly explores the discourses that revolve around the utilization of popular women-
only FB groups in mainstream television talk show programs in Egypt.
Firstly, the article draws on recent literature on online platforms providing a space for expression
and social activism for women in Egypt to shed light on the vitality of exploring social media-based
platforms’ potentiality for women to articulate their needs, experiences, concerns and matters
that pertain to their well-being in the region. Then, a contextual background is provided on the
broadcast media structure in Egypt to contextualize how talk show program structure shapes
discourse around Facebook groups. Secondly, the method of data collection and data analysis is
described. Thirdly, the results of the prevalent discourse are demonstrated, followed by a critical
analysis in the discussion section.
2 Literature Review
2.1 Virtual Spaces and Women
Extensive scholarly focus has been directed towards the utilization of the internet by Egyptian
women for activism during the Arab Spring in 2011 (Elsayed 2016). Dina Hosni’s (2017) study
showed how, on the one hand, platforms in the cybersphere provided women protestors a space
where they could support and encourage each other to go to protests in the face of sexual assault
attacks in the streets (206). On the other hand, her study showed that women’s insecurity to
express their concerns in physical spaces has paved the way for new media platforms to provide
alternative spaces where women convey their perspectives of contemporary life, drawing on a
range of political, social, economic, and religious experiences (Hosni 2017).
Sara Khorshid (2021) further explained the importance of the virtual sphere vis-à-vis the
disadvantages women in Egypt are subjected to due to their gender. She noted that before the
2011 uprising in Egypt, there was a general perception that all Egyptians, excluding the ruling and
elite group, suffered from corruption and inequalities. However, the subsequent period after the
2011 uprising mirrored that, among other issues, women in Egypt face “sexism, misogyny,
domestic violence, sexual harassment, discriminatory societal expectations, and poverty as a
single parent” (Parag. 2). As a result, she pointed out that there is a growing awareness and gender
consciousness among women in Egypt and a rising concern over women’s rights that stretches
“Are they just for venting out?” 3
University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers (XLVIII)
out to wider segments of the Egyptian public, which encompass non-ideological women who have
minimal to no engagement with political or social activism (Khorshid 2021).
Another example of non-ideological activism engagement using digital media is reflected in Reem
Abuzaid and Yosra Sultan’s study (2022). They explored the emergence of a new wave of feminist
activism in June 2020 organized by young middle- and upper-class Egyptians in Egypt who
depended profoundly on social media tools to share incidents of sexual harassment and assault
(307). They indicated that the organizers are not “educated as feminists” but are inspired by the
organizational framework of the global #MeToo movement and its discourse against sexual
violence (Abuzaid and Sultan 2022). This form of activism in Egypt based on online campaigns
has stirred solidarity and vast support from Egyptian women to victims of harassment and sexual
assault, stimulating a feeling of sisterhood among them (Khorshid 2021). This idea of what
Khorshid describes as ‘spontaneous feminism’ concurs with Sreberny’s (2015) perspective on
how women’s practices are widening in terms of nature and content in what is considered
political. For instance, she indicated that women’s participation in discussions on social issues in
public debates and their activities that endorse women’s awareness of their rights is considered
political. Accordingly, it is vital to look beyond a limited conception of cultural productions that
explicitly promote feminist issues and defy prevailing gender norms (Pratt 2021).
In her article Virtual Spaces and Collective Action in Egypt, Sherine Hafez (2016) highlighted the
importance of online platforms in Egypt that, while refraining from engaging in direct political
discussions, contribute to political work by providing a space for hundreds of thousands of
Egyptians to seek self-help tools and support from others. She indicated that in conjunction with
the state’s efforts to outline morals and values to repress ideas that threaten social cohesion, these
online platforms’ affordance of privacy and anonymity has created a space of tolerance for topics
largely considered taboo by society. One of the examples she provides is the confessions of a
married woman Facebook group that has enabled women to address situations that women
commonly face and discuss intimate topics perceived as cultural taboos, such as sex, gender role
expectations, and mental and sexual health (Hafez 2016) .
While this section highlighted recent literature on how social media platforms are prevalently
utilized for women articulating their concerns and social activism, it also conveyed the difficulties
women face in the public sphere. Some of the authors highlighted the role of moral discourse in
Egypt’s public sphere in contributing to these difficulties. For instance, Hafez (2016) highlighted
that current public discourse in Egypt is centered on the ground of national unity and state-
approved morality, which sustains the traditional values of the mainstream. Likewise, Abuzaid
and Sultan’s (2022) study also showed that online campaigning against sexual harassment
initially caused a stir and gained the state’s support. For example, issuing arrest warrants of the
men who took part in sexual assaults. However, they indicated that the state took advantage of
the situation to convey a moral discourse that criticized the engagement of ‘prohibited’ sexual
practices and called on parents to be attentive to their children’s moral upbringing and to take
care of the internet’s influence (307).
In the context of prevailing morality discourses in the public sphere, it is imperative to look at the
broadcast media structure in Egypt and the status of women within this structure to understand
4
“Are they just for venting out?”
University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers (XLVIII)
how this context impacts discourses that revolve around women’s utilization of digital media
platforms.
2.2 Broadcast Media structure and Women
It is paramount to consider the role of media ownership when exploring the role of television as
a public sphere (Abdul Wahab 2011: 33). The MENA region witnessed substantial advancement
at the end of the twentieth century due to the emergence of satellite channels that are not
controlled directly by the government (Sakr 2002). However, privately owned channels in Egypt
are associated with the government because they are broadcasted via the Nilesat satellite, of
which 40% is owned by the Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU), a public enterprise that
answers to the Minister of Information (Dawoud 2011: 152). Nevertheless, as wealthy
businessmen are foremost interested in making a profit through their private television programs
from advertising (Hamada 2008), this meant more competition for the viewers’ attention
(Hamada 2008; Sakr 2002).
The competition for viewers’ attention to attract advertisers also meant that appearance-focused
visual media relies on women to appeal to the audience (Sakr 2001). Consequently, Skalli (2006)
remarked that the position and image of female media personalities have become more complex.
She indicated that while they acquired greater negotiating power within the competitive media
market, women’s presence in the public sphere is still met with hostility (Skalli 2006:
44). Likewise, Sakr (2002) pointed out that the increasing quantitative presence of women in
media institutes holding influential positions in the MENA region did not contribute substantially
to an improvement in the discourse on women’s status. She attributed this lack of improvement
to the rigid code of ethics imposed by the state that generally undermines the staff’s authority. For
instance, TV programs, particularly those that discuss women’s status, are not allowed to include
content that condemns religion, tradition, and beliefs, which are viewed by the state to endanger
the sacredness of family values and ties (Sakr 2002: 841).
Due to this structure of television broadcast programs in Egypt, discourses that comply with the
status quo are encouraged. Consequently, viewers are not exposed to content considered
unsettling or socially disruptive (Sakr 2002: 841). For this reason, private channels are criticized
for being a real public sphere for Egyptians, as too often these institutions censor themselves
(Hamada 2008). Accordingly, as the literature indicates that commercial television programs in
Egypt operate under constrictions, I argue that television talk show programs convey dominant
ideology. Furthermore, they have the power to influence public discourse by shaping media
discourse (van Dijk 2001).
3 Method of Data collection and Analysis
Ten videos retrieved from the official YouTube channel of talk show programs were purposefully
selected to align with the article’s research objective of exploring discourses surrounding
women’s utilization of women-only Facebook groups. The material chosen for the analysis was
part of other types of digital ethnographic data collected for my larger PhD research (in progress)
that explores popular Facebook groups for women as a communication phenomenon in Egypt.
Accordingly, keywords, informed by the other data collected, such as Facebook groups for women
or women’s Facebook groups were utilized to search and retrieve these videos from YouTube.
“Are they just for venting out?” 5
University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers (XLVIII)
The article draws on critical discourse analysis that accounts for power relations in society. It
broadly draws on Fairclough’s (1995) three-dimensional framework for critical discourse
analysis. The first dimension encompasses a description of the textual features (written or
spoken). The second dimension includes identifying discursive conventions found in the
discourse sequence. The third dimension conveys the socio-cultural practices connected with
existing hegemonies integrated into discourse articulations (Fairclough 1995: 97). Accordingly,
while the findings of this article are based on the analysis of ten talk show videos, four videos,
each from a different talk show program, were selected to showcase the characteristics of the
form, content of the communicative event, and how it operates.
These talk show programs are 1) Al Setat Mayrafoosh Yekdbo, a woman’s program hosted by all
women. According to this TV program’s Facebook page, it is described as a TV program that
‘deviates’ from women’s program that discusses makeup, cooking, and fashion by discussing all
social issues through the eyes of women. 2) Akhir El Nahar TV program is described on its
YouTube channel as a daily program that boldly highlights political and social issues with the best
experts and discusses various prominent issues and concerns of the Egyptian street. 3) Ehna El
Setat is also a woman-led TV program television program. This TV program is described on its
YouTube channel as a social program that discusses women’s issues and presents everything
related to women’s interests, including fashion and makeup. 4) Yahdoth Fi Masr TV program is
described on its YouTube channel as bringing the news and the pulse of the Egyptian street,
people’s issues, and political events with confidence, credibility, seriousness, and impartiality. It
is presented by a prominent television journalist, Sherif Amer, who is described as bringing a
different reading and a deeper analysis of the news in Egypt, along with a fleet of experts in various
fields.
Subsequently, the discussion section is guided by Fairclough’s second and third dimensions of
critical discourse analysis (Fairclough 1995), which is an analysis of discursive practices and
socio-cultural practices, by drawing connections to the literature on the private and public sphere
in Egypt, the structure of local and global media, and postfeminism. Furthermore, as this article is
concerned with the representation of women-only Facebook groups, bearing in mind that they
are spaces for women and digital platforms used by women, Lazar’s (2013) Feminist Critical
Discourse Analysis (FCDA) provides a valuable additional framework for the discussion presented
in this article. Her approach is concerned with distinct communicative phenomena and genres
that are broadly utilized within a culture and are potentially perceived as empowering for
women’s participation in the public realms (219–220). Nevertheless, she concurrently
emphasizes accounting for institutional structures in which gender accomplishments are located
(221). Accordingly, in addition to Fairclough’s framework to guide the analysis of the selected
sample, Lazar’s FCDA approach is utilized first to identify how power and dominance are
constructed and/or challenged in discourse articulating gendered social practices (219–220).
Second, it is utilized to locate how conventions of doing and being a woman are co-constructed in
discourse (Lazar 2013: 221).
6
“Are they just for venting out?”
University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers (XLVIII)
4 Results: Moral Panic Vs. Embracement
This article reveals two prevalent discourses on women’s utilization of women-only Facebook
groups that were evident in all the videos analyzed in the sample. Firstly, a discourse that conveys
a concern over women’s use of these platforms to vent out about issues that are socio-culturally
perceived as matters of the private sphere. Secondly, a discourse that embraces the utilization of
women-only Facebook groups for entrepreneurial endeavors is conveyed. In this section, snippets
from four videos, each from a different television program, are presented to demonstrate the
simultaneous presence of these two discourses. In the following discussion section, these
discourses are analyzed to broader societal and structural issues.
El Setat Mayarfoosh Yekdebo
In this women-led television talk show program, Zeinab Al Ashry, the creator of Confessions of a
Married Woman Facebook group, two members of Al Ashry’s Facebook groups, and a journalist
were featured. Al Ashry’s Facebook group is known as a platform where women talk about marital
problems through anonymous confessions. The term ‘confessions’ comes from the initial inability
to speak about martial issues, as topics that concern the private sphere are perceived as taboo in
Egyptian society. Nowadays, her FB group has evolved to become a platform where women talk
about various issues that concern them beyond marital problems. Given this context, the following
snippet shows how one of the presenters introduced the topic of Facebook groups for women-
only as a debatable phenomenon to the viewers:
All the time we find groups for chit-chatting and venting out created by women. All
the time we find people complaining about their marriage problems, and honestly, it
could sometimes be beneficial. Venting out and listening to the experiences of others
has a beneficial, positive, and beautiful side, but some women are addicted to it [FB
groups]. Those who want to hear news of others and get into marriage secrets. Is it
right or wrong? Are they [the FB groups] just for venting out, or do they lead to a state
of struggle with no solutions? (El-Setat, 2022, 51: 30-52:05).
The above introduction by the presenter conveyed concern over FB groups as spaces for venting
out and questioned if they are appropriate spaces for women to talk about issues concerning the
private sphere and if they even provide women with solutions. In the interview, Al Ashry first
validated her FB group by saying her FB group developed beyond being a platform of
“confessions” to a company and that she was honored in Sweden for providing sessions and
workshops conducted by experts on topics that concern women. Second, Al Ashry displayed
awareness of communication forms that have always encompassed women’s issues by saying, “I
want to say that the idea of venting out and showcasing a problem is not something new… so many
talk shows have people calling them to talk about their problems” (1:11:07-1:11:24). In this way,
she highlighted that the concept of venting out is not a new phenomenon that emerged from FB
group platforms.
A guest journalist was present as a critic in the discussion to provide an opposing view of the
impact of the proliferation of Facebook groups for women. She commented on Al Ashry’s
statement by saying, “But only one person responds who is an expert” (1:11:26). Her comment
“Are they just for venting out?” 7
University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers (XLVIII)
implied that in talk shows, individuals direct their concerns to the talk show host who is the
proper entity to listen to people’s personal or social problems and give advice accordingly. On the
contrary, she viewed women who showcase their issues to a group of thousands of women who
are not ‘experts’ as problematic. Such discourse showcases how socially dominant actors as
“reliable sources and expert voices” are positioned favorably to regulate discourse and opinion
representation (Mowri and Bailey 2022: 9).
Akhir El Nahar
This television program featured Sarah Farid, the creator of 7ad Ye3raf FB group, and her
husband. Unlike the nature of the Confessions of a Married Woman FB group that is mentioned
above, the nature of her 7ad Ye3raf FB group generally does not involve discussions on personal
or social issues that women are facing. Instead, it follows a question-answer format where women
ask questions such as ‘Does someone know where to buy…?, Where to find…?’. Nevertheless, the
focus of the interview also conveyed a general concern over FB groups being platforms for
women-only and for providing women the space to speak about their issues. As the following
snippet shows:
Sherif Amin [TV presenter]: Since the goal [of the FB group] is to exchange
information on where to find certain information, why is it [the FB group] exclusively
for women?
Sarah Farid [FB group creator]: because the interests of women are different than the
interests of men. For example, if I am looking for something for the kitchen, surely you
would not be interested in telling me your opinion about it.
Amin: That is a point of view, but there are shared interests.
Farid: There are, but we women like to talk, to sit with ourselves.
Amin: This is the problem. I have an issue with women sitting with themselves,
whether on the internet or in a room. Anything on their own. […]
FB group creator’s husband: It becomes worrying [jokingly]. […]
Yasmin Al Khatib [TV presenter]: It is a matter of privacy. Women talk about their skin
and hair and do not want men to see that […]
Amin: Never mind talking about hair, skin, and these things. I do not think personal,
psychological, or social problems should be discussed in secluded rooms between the
sexes. In my opinion, they increase problems and do not solve them, and lead to
hatred toward the other party. (TeNTV, 2022, 13:31-27:44)
The above snippet illustrates how Amin problematized the seclusion of women, whether in a
virtual or physical space. He also differentiated between the topics that women could talk about.
He labeled women’s discussions on ‘skin’ and ‘hair’ as unproblematic. However, he labeled
women’s discussion on “personal, psychological or social” issues as problematic. While the FB
8
“Are they just for venting out?”
University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers (XLVIII)
group creator and the other television presenter, Al Khatib, as women seem to defend the idea of
the need for women’s seclusion to speak about their interests, the interests they mentioned are
related to skin and hair care. The representation of such interests as unproblematic emphasizes
the maintenance of the female body.
Ehna El Setat
In this other women-led and oriented television program, the creator of a prominent women-only
Facebook group MissBasket, Nada Alashmouny, was featured. They initially discussed the
significance of women-only FB groups as platforms that inform women, give them the space to
find support, and know women’s public opinion. Then, the focus of the interview was on the
prominence of Alashmouny’s Facebook group. She was asked by one of the television presenters
how she benefits from her FB groups, to which she responded that she created an officially
registered social media company that co-operates with famous international and local companies
to create marketing campaigns through her FB group. Following Alashmouny’s response, the
presenters and Alashmouny supported and validated her digitally-enabled entrepreneurial
activities. This validation is reflected in the following conversation:
Yasmine Fahmy [TV presenter]: Anyway, it is not wrong that someone would develop
an idea into a project
Alashmouny [FB group creator]: I support this point. It is not wrong. When I now
devote my life 24/7 to social media, naturally, since this has become my work, I have
to benefit from it.
Fahmy [TV presenter]: and there is no harm. She [Elashmouny] advertises for
something. If it does not benefit you, it does not harm you […].
Laila-Ezz-Al Arab [TV presenter]: On the contrary, I encourage it. (TeN TV, 2022, 8:36-
8:44)
While Alashmouny is presented favorably as a successful role model of entrepreneurship, the end
of the segment emphasized the perceived negative impact of women-only FB groups on women.
This emphasis is reflected in how one of the TV presenters, Fahmy, warned the viewers, “Me, Nada,
and Laila encourage women to feel each other, but that does not mean to publicize family secrets
[on FB groups] or to expose your husband...” (11:56-12:06). This quote showcases again a general
discourse that reflects concern surrounding FB groups of women discussing issues that concern
the private sphere.
Yahdoth fi Masr
Three Facebook group creators were featured in this talk show program. Alashmouny, the creator
of MissBasket FB group, Al Ashry, the creator of the Confessions of a Married Woman FB group, and
Heba Eid, the creator of the Mommy’s Club FB group. Unlike the television presenters in the other
television programs, this program’s television presenter does not clearly problematize women’s
use of women-only Facebook groups to vent about their problems. However, his questions to
Alashmouny sought to differentiate the orientation of her Facebook group from Al Ashry’s
Facebook group Confessions of a Married Woman:
“Are they just for venting out?” 9
University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers (XLVIII)
Sherif Amer [TV presenter] To Nada Elashmouny [MissBasket FB group creator]: But
your Facebook group is about shopping and lifestyle?
Alashmouny: but because it is the biggest group, as in the biggest in number [of
members], so, we have mommies, we have women that have problems, we have a mix
of everything.
Amer: So, do they ask you about fashion, or do they talk to you about their problems
with their husbands?
Alashmouny: Everything. MissBasket is a world. It reflects everything present in
society. (Yahdoth Fi Misr, 0:01-0:22)
Then, the television presenter exhibited an interest in how the three Facebook group creators
have turned their Facebook groups into companies:
Amer [TV Presenter] to Alashmouny: How did you start this experience?
Alashmouny: As I started the FB group, I started a company. I did not wait.
Amer to the three Facebook group creators: So, the three of you have companies?
With employees?
[Consensus among three interviewees: Yes]
Eid: with offices.
Amer [TV Presenter]: I need to find myself another job. (0:28-0:42)
The above snippet, like snippets from Ehna el Setat television program, reflected how the
development of Facebook group creators’ entrepreneurial practices resulting from creating
Facebook groups is viewed favorably.
5 Discussion
Women television presenters, particularly in talk shows that follow a ‘from women for women’
format, slightly conveyed more solidarity with Facebook groups for providing a space where
women could share relatable experiences. However, all talk shows analyzed, whether hosted by
all women, a man and a woman, or a man only, presented concern over the proliferation of
Facebook groups for women as spaces that enable women to discuss matters of the private sphere.
I argue that this discourse is intertwined with the relegation of religion to the private sphere in
Egypt and women’s utilization of gendered spaces as a means to navigate societal constraints.
Prevailing Islamic beliefs maintain the division between male and female domains in Muslim
societies (Abdelrazek-Alsiefy 2022: 4). Women are typically assigned to the domestic sphere
associated with femininity and sexuality, while men are designated to the public sphere (Mernissi
1987, as cited in Abdelrazek-Alsiefy 2022: 4). However, the demarcation between the private
10
“Are they just for venting out?”
University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers (XLVIII)
realm associated with femininity and the public sphere in Egypt is not solely a result of Islamic
influence but also an impact of the integration of secularism. Mahmood (2012) argued that one of
the paradoxes in the secularization of Middle Eastern societies, including Egypt, is that while
religious jurisdiction became peripheral to the activities of civil and political entities, it attained a
privileged position in the regulation of the private sphere (which encompasses family and
sexuality). Due to the modern governance’s relegation of religion, family, and sexuality to the
private sphere, the Egyptian state centralized ‘the family’ as the social unit liable for the structure
of the modern nation-state and society (Mahmood 2012: 60). Consequently, it has implemented
multiple legal articles to regulate societal morals, including charges against individuals who
disrupt ‘social and family values’ (Noralla 2022). Within this context, matters that revolve around
family and sexuality, associated with the realm of the private sphere, are often unspoken in public
discourses.
Alternatively, women-only Facebook groups’ affordance of privacy and anonymity provides a
space that allows its members to openly discuss topics disregarded in public discourse, which
encompass personal concerns and sensitive topics like divorce and coping with controlling
household members (Hafez 2016). Nevertheless, these gendered spaces formed online are not an
entirely new phenomenon. They are an extension of an existing tradition of forming gendered
spaces and publics. For instance, in her exploration of sexually segregated spaces of Bedouin
women in Egypt, Abu-Lughod (1990) indicated that women habitually engage in trivial forms of
resistance, such as utilizing secrets and silences to their benefit and using mockery as a means to
express their discontent with men who fall short of their apparent moral and social superiority
(45). She vitally noted that what is significant about these practices in these women’s spaces is
women’s enthusiastic engagement in storytelling, listening, and reacting to topics men find
objectionable (46). Thus, whether offline or online, women use ‘private spaces’ or ‘the female
domain’ to gossip and chat, which enables information flow, solidarity, and awareness and forms
a basis for power and agency (Wetschanow 1999).
However, unlike Bedouin women in Abu-Lughod's (1990) study who are sedentary in their
physical spaces, private women-only Facebook groups encompass thousands to hundreds of
thousands of members who are scattered in different geographic locations, making these
Facebook groups semi-public spaces. Accordingly, discussions move beyond the boundaries of
these online platforms to offline contexts, challenging symbolic boundaries of modern society of
what constitutes issues of private spaces, such as the home or the bedroom, and public spaces.
Women-only spaces then are perceived as problematic for invoking women’s discussion on
‘private’ marital or family matters and thus perceived as a threat to moral values, norms, and
social order. This moral panic over women’s seclusion also has historical roots in Egypt. Abu-
Lughod (1998) indicated that Qassim Amin, known as the father of feminism in Egypt, criticized
the segregation of women for enabling them to talk to one another about their personal lives,
leading to their moral corruption. Nowadays, this conception that problematizes women’s
discussions on issues that concern the private sphere, based on endangering family cohesion, is
reflected in television talk show programs’ discourse.
Nevertheless, Mahmood (2012) noted that while the family unit in Egypt, based in the private
realm, is tied to “privacy, affect, spirituality, nurturance, and reproduction” (58), the public sphere
“Are they just for venting out?” 11
University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers (XLVIII)
and the market follow a separate individualistic and competitive ideological rationality. This
market-oriented rationality is conveyed in the discourse that embraces the successful business
developments manifested from their women-only Facebook groups by Facebook group creators
and television presenters. The Facebook group creators’ articulation of their business endeavors
conveys Abu-Lughod’s (1990) remark that women capitalize on societal contradictions and
engage in practices that result from power relations, which cannot be observed outside of them.
When speaking about their FB groups, and not the general phenomenon of the proliferation of FB
groups for women only, FB group creators’ discourse showed neoliberal and postfeminist
tendencies that represent femininity, the maintenance of the female body, and successful
entrepreneurship (Gill 2007; Weber 2010). While the concept of post-feminism originated in the
global north, where forms of femininity prevail due to media accessibility (Boshoff 2021),
Dosekun (2015) noted that post-feminism has made its way into the global south because of its
transnational sensibility that circulates effortlessly through global media networks and
commodities. Thus, similarly to vloggers in Henderson’s study, when FB group creators speak
about the successful developments of their FB groups, their postfeminist stories are complexly
shaped by technological affordances, its commercial impact, and the context in which this
articulation takes place (Henderson 2020: 124). For example, FB group creators steered the
discussion away from the representation of their FB groups as problematic for enabling women
to vent out. They instead validated the popularity of their FB groups by indicating that they have
developed their FB group into an official company that provides women with various services
(educational/ informational/ entertainment) and connects them with experts (e.g., doctors) to
support their well-being. Such discourse is vital for sustaining their brand, which then
corporations capitalize on and audiences get affectively devoted to (Henderson 2020: 125).
Furthermore, this discourse that incorporates neoliberal corporate culture attracts extensive
media coverage, circulation, and effective embrace (Banet-Weiser et al. 2020; Fisher 2009). It is
also easily diffused, popularized, and capitalized because they conform to the format of mass
media platforms (Banet-Weiser et al. 2020; van Dijck and Poell 2013: 7). For example, both
Facebook groups for women-only and mainstream television programs’ structure follow what van
Dijck and Poell (2013) term the Media Logic that blurs between news and advertising, as well as
public service and commerce (4).
The frequent appearance of FB group creators on popular mainstream television programs
promotes the visibility of their platforms and their activities to the broader public sphere. Their
FB groups gain what Ardèvol et al. (2010) term the ‘fame effect’ in which internet phenomena
‘jump’ to the mass media sphere. This means new platforms of communication, such as these FB
groups, get to validate themselves as media that generated a mass phenomenon (Ardèvol et al.
2010). Consequently, the position of influential social media platforms, such as these popular
Facebook groups for women, is magnified (van Dijck and Poell 2013: 7). Concurrently, talk shows
make use of the intimacy and familiarity appeal of oral forms of communication and forums of
communication that encompass a women’s public (Wetschanow 1999: 6). However, by mediating
a women’s public, talk shows restructure the social reality from the perspective of women where
women’s experiences that functions as ‘venting’, or deviating from ‘the norm’ can be maintained
(Wetschanow 1999: 6). Accordingly, on the one hand, Facebook group creators engage in what
Banet-Weiser describes as corporate feminism via media-friendly discourse that barely criticizes
12
“Are they just for venting out?”
University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers (XLVIII)
patriarchal structures or deep structures of inequities (Banet-Weiser et al. 2020: 11). On the other
hand, mainstream mass media channels, such as these TV programs, take a proactive and reactive
role in making popular internet-based discourse salient (Fisher 2009: 75).
In this way, women’s conversations that convey private discourses are appropriated when they
make their way to more public spheres (Wetschanow 1999: 6). This is reflected in the TV
presenters’ discourse that is infused with moral panic over women’s usage of the FB groups to
discuss their problems. This prevailing media discourse, on the one hand, maintains the status
quo in society (Rao and Lingam 2021: 143). On the other hand, this discourse infused with moral
panic entertains and engages the audience to profit from sales, clicks, and ratings instead of
investigating difficult issues (Rao and Lingam 2021: 131). For instance, discussions on domestic
violence prevalent in women-only Facebook groups are barely or superficially discussed in the
sample of videos analyzed. These findings support El-Ibiary’s (2017) study that showed that while
women activists and media professionals in Egypt viewed that social media enables expression
and highlights women’s issues, they noted that television coverage, as well as other traditional
mainstream platforms, barely allocated space for women’s problems and the magnitude of
violence against them (53).
“Are they just for venting out?” 13
University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers (XLVIII)
6 Conclusion
Women-only Facebook groups can be viewed as a progressive communication phenomenon for
affording women a more comfortable environment for expressing their problems and for
achieving visibility in local mainstream broadcast media. However, it is vital to regard gendered
developments in relation to the opportunities and limitations inherent in specific societal
structures and practices (Lazar, 2013: 218). Situating broadcast media in Egypt as conveyors of
dominant ideology, this article explored the discourses on women’s utilization of women-only
Facebook groups within mainstream commercial talk show programs in Egypt by conducting a
Critical Discourse Analysis on a sample of ten videos from YouTube.
Snippets from four videos, each from a different television program, demonstrate two salient
discourses present simultaneously. The first prevailing discourse conveys concern over women
using women-only Facebook groups to discuss problems that are socially conceived as matters of
the private sphere. Concurrently, the second prevailing discourse conveys an embracement of
Facebook group creators’ digitally enabled entrepreneurial practices that have stemmed from
members’ engagement on their Facebook group platform. To provide a critical analysis to the two
prevalent discourses conveyed, the discussion section offered insights from anthropologists Lila
Abu-Lughod and Saba Mahmood that describe the dynamics of the private and public spheres in
Egypt, which impacts how women are expected to conduct themselves in these spaces. This
contextualizes prevalent discourses in Egyptian society that mirror anxieties over women’s
discursive spaces. Concurrently, I drew on insights from feminist scholars and media scholars to
delineate women-only FB groups as a postfeminist phenomenon located in Egypt in connection to
global media structures and commercial market logic to explain the embracement of Facebook
group creators’ digitally enabled entrepreneurial practices. Through this analysis, I demonstrated
that the discourses of women-only Facebook groups in Egyptian mainstream commercial
television programs offer a broader insight into not only the representation of women’s utilization
of social media platforms but also the assigned conventional responsibility of women to maintain
the social image of the family in society. Articulating such a discourse in concurrence with a
discourse that celebrates Facebook group creators’ entrepreneurial endeavors for connecting
women with products and services reproduces gender norms and maintains existing structures
that marginalize women’s issues.
14
“Are they just for venting out?”
University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers (XLVIII)
7 References
Abdelrazek-Alsiefy, Amany. 2022. Mapping gendered spaces and women’s rights in the modern
egyptian public sphere. SN Social Sciences 3 (1). doi: 10.1007/s43545-022-00582-7.
Abdul Wahab, Juliana. 2011. Television Talk Shows and the Public Sphere. Malaysian Journal of
Communication 27 (2): 29–45.
Abu-Lughod, Lila. 1998. The Marriage of Feminism and Islamism in the Marriage of Feminism and
Islamism in Egypt: Selective Repudiation as a Dynamic of Postcolonial Cultural Politics. In
Remaking Women: Feminism and Modernity in the Middle East, ed. Lila Abu-Lughod.
Abu-Lughod, Lila. 1990. The Romance of Resistance: Tracing Transformations of Power Through
Bedouin Women. American Ethnologist 17 (1): 41–45.
Abuzaid, Reem Awny, and Yosra Sultan. 2022. On Social Networks, Anonymous Testimonies, and
Other Tools of Feminist Activism against Sexual Violence in Egypt. Journal of Middle East
Women's Studies 18 (2): 301–310. doi: 10.1215/15525864-9767968.
Al Nahar TV. Jan 2, 2019. 28:40. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oj4L63ybdtg&list=PLqvsycx2pPzhEELg4BvGmnmuNgS
lPdrs3&index=3&t=673s (last accessed 22 February 2023).
Ardèvol, Elisenda, Antoni Roig, Gemma San Cornelio, Ruth Pagès, and Pau Alsina. 2010. Playful
Practices: Theorising ‘New Media’ Cultural Production. In Media and Practice: Playful Practices:
Theorising ‘New Media’ Cultural Production, ed. Birgit Bräuchler and John Postill, 259–280.
Berghahn Books.
Ayish, Mohammad, and Abeer AlNajjar. 2019. Arab Millennials' Articulation of Identity in
Cyberspace: A Study of three MENA YouTubers. Arab Media & Society (27): 26–40.
Banet-Weiser, Sarah, Gill Rosalind, and Catherine Rottenberg. 2020. Postfeminism, popular
feminism and neoliberal feminism? Sarah Banet-Weiser, Rosalind Gill and Catherine
Rottenberg in conversation. Feminist Theory 21 (1). doi: 10.1177/1464700119842555.
Barakat, Sherif. 2022. The Influence of Talk Shows on Egyptian Society: Harmless or Alarming?
https://egyptianstreets.com/2022/10/22/the-influence-of-talk-shows-on-egyptian-society-
harmless-or-alarming/. (last accessed 22 February 2023).
Boshoff, Priscilla. 2021. Breaking the Rules: Zodwa Wabantu and Postfeminism in South Africa.
Meda and Communication 9 (2): 52–61.
Dawoud, Aliaa. 2011. Shifts in Treatment of Women's Rights in Egyptian Media. Journal of
International Women's Studies 12 (4): 148–161.
Dosekun, Simedele. 2015. For Western Girls Only? Postfeminism as Transnational Culture.
Feminist Media Studies 15 (6): 960–975.
“Are they just for venting out?” 15
University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers (XLVIII)
El-Ibiary, Rasha. 2017. Media Portrayal of Street Violence against Egyptian Women: Women,
Socio-Political Violence, Ineffective Laws and Limited Role of NGOs. IOFR Journal of Media,
Communication & Film 4 (1): 49–64.
Elsayed, Heba. 2016. A divine cosmopolitanism? Religion, media and imagination in a socially
divided Cairo. Media, Culture & Society 38 (1): 48–63. doi: 10.1177/0163443715615413.
Fairclough, Norman. 1995. Critical Discourse Analysis: The Critical Study of Language. New York:
Longman Publishing.
Fisher, Mark. 2009. Capitalist Realism. Zero Books.
Gill, Rosalind. 2007. Postfeminist media culture. European Journal of Cultural Studies 10 (2): 147–
166. doi: 10.1177/1367549407075898.
Hafez, Sherine. 2016. Virtual Space and Collective Action in Egypt: Post-Revolutionary
Communities on Facebook. https://merip.org/2017/05/virtual-space-and-collective-action-
in-egypt/. (last accessed 22 February 2023).
Hamada, Basyouni Ibrahim. 2008. Satellite Television and Public Sphere in Egypt: Is there a Link?
Global Media Journal.
Henderson, Margaret. 2020. Postfeminism in Context: Women, Australian Popular Culture, and the
Unsettling of Postfeminism. London, New York: Routledge; Taylor & Francis Group.
Hosni, Dina. 2017. Egyptian Cyber Feminisms Within the Arab Spring: A Gateway to Transnational
Democracy? In Arab Women and the Media in Changing Landscapes, ed. Elena Maestri and
Annemarie Profanter, 193–213. Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Khorshid, Sara. 2021. The unlikely success of Egypt’s 2011 revolution: A revived women’s
movement.
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasource/the-unlikely-success-of-
egypts-2011-revolution-a-revived-womens-movement/.(last accessed 22 February 2023).
Lazar, Michelle M. 2013. Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis: Articulating a Feminist Discourse
Praxis. In Critical Discourse Analysis, ed. Ruth Wodak, 211–236. SAGE Publications.
Mahmood, Saba. 2012. Sectarian conflict and family law in contemporary Egypt. American
Ethnologist 39 (1): 54–62. doi: 10.1111/j.1548-1425.2011.01347.x.
Ministry of Communications and Information Techology. 2021. ICT Indicators Bulletin: Quarterly
Issue. Egypt.
Mowri, Seama, and Ajay Bailey. 2022. Framing safety of women in public transport: A media
discourse analysis of sexual harassment cases in Bangladesh. Media, Culture & Society 25 (1):
016344372211119. doi: 10.1177/01634437221111913.
16
“Are they just for venting out?”
University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers (XLVIII)
Nathanson, Elizabeth. 2009. As Easy as Pie: Cooking Shows, Domestic Efficiency, and Postfeminist
Temporality. Television & New Media 10 (4): 311–330. doi: 10.1177/1527476409332394.
Noralla, Noor. 2022. Politics, society and public morals: Does a “debauchery” charge service all?
https://timep.org/2022/06/21/politics-society-and-public-morals-how-does-a-debauchery-
charge-service-all/. (last accessed 22 February 2023).
Pratt, Nicola. 2021. Popular Culture, Gender, and Revolution in Egypt. Journal of Middle East
Women's Studies 17 (1): 137–146. doi: 10.1215/15525864-8790347.
Rao, Neomi, and Lakshmi Lingam. 2021. Smartphones, youth and moral panics: Exploring print
and online media narratives in India. Mobile Media & Communication 9 (1): 128–148. doi:
10.1177/2050157920922262.
Sakr, Naomi. 2001. Breaking Down Barriers in the Arab Media: Women activists have shown that
obstacles to progress take many forms. https://niemanreports.org/articles/breaking-down-
barriers-in-the-arab-media/. (last accessed 22 February 2023).
Sakr, Naomi. 2002. Seen and Starting to Be Heard: Women and the Arab Media in a Decade of
Change. Social Research 69 (3): 821–850.
Setat Mayarfoosh Yekdebo. Aug 22, 2020. YouTube, 2:14:18. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2xDTCJ3- (last accessed 22 February 2023).
Skalli, Loubna H. 2006. Communicating Gender in the Public Sphere: Women and Information
Technologies in the MENA. Journal of Middle East Women's Studies 2 (2): 35–59. doi:
10.2979/MEW.2006.2.2.35.
Sreberny, Annabelle. 2015. Women's Digital Activism in a Changing Middle East. International
Journal of Middle East Studies 47 (2): 357–361. doi: 10.1017/S0020743815000112
TeNTV. July 22, 2020. 14:10. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_01uTTtUKXw&list=PLqvsycx2pPzhEELg4BvGmnmuNg
SlPdrs3&index=5&t=413s (last accessed 22 February 2023).
van Dijck, José, and Thomas Poell. 2013. Understanding Social Media Logic. Media and
Communication 1 (1). doi: 10.12924/mac2013.01010002.
van Dijk, Teun A. 2001. Critical Discourse Analysis. In The Handbook of Discourse Analysis, ed.
Deborah Schiffrin, Deborah Tannen and Heidi E. Hamilton, 352–371. Massachusetts: Blackwell
Publishers.
Weber, Brenda R. 2010. Teaching Popular Culture through Gender Studies: Feminist Pedagogy in
a Postfeminist and Neoliberal Academy? Feminist Teacher 20 (2): 124. doi:
10.5406/femteacher.20.2.0124.
“Are they just for venting out?” 17
University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers (XLVIII)
Wetschanow, Karin. 1999. The Personal is Political: Are Daytime Talkshows Feminist? In A Decade
of Transformations, vol. 8. IWM Junior Visiting Fellows Conferences, Vienna.
Yahdoth Fi Misr. May 13, 2021. 2:25. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyXKrEGvbNU&list=PLqvsycx2pPzhEELg4BvGmnmuNg
SlPdrs3&index=18&t=1s (last accessed 22 February 2023).
18
“Are they just for venting out?”
University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers (XLVIII)
10 Latest UBT African studies working papers
Title
Editor(s)
Year
of
Publication
Issue
The Use of Social Media in Enacting
Emotional Care to Elderly People
During the Covid-19 Pandemic:
Empirical Evidence from Rwanda
Albert Irambeshya
2023
41
“Hanging out” with judicial and
legal elites
Reflections on researching “up”
Diana Kisakye
2023
40
Modalities of Forgetting : A Refusal
of Memory Among Post-Conflict
Samburu and Pokot, Kenya
Jon Holtzman
2023
36
Ọ rúnmìliàn Film-Philosophy: An
African
Philosophy
throught
Cinematic Storytelling
Saheed Adesumbo Bello
2023
35
Media Transnationalism and the
Politics of ‘Feminised Corruption’
Sharon Adetutu Omotoso
2023
34
Live as African: On the Relevance
of Thomas Sankara’s Agenda for
Economic Liberation
Ndongo Samba Sylla
2022
33
‘Social media is for the elite’: Local
political communication in Ghana
in times of COVID-19
Matthew
Sabbi,
Dieter
Neubert
and
Alexander
Stroh
2022
32
Future Africa?! Timescapes and the
Flattening of Time in the Modern
Era
Susanne Lachenicht
2022
31
beaucoup
de
peur
et
de
questionnement:
Une
étude
comparative des discours sur le
Covid-19 en Côte d'Ivoire et au
Cameroun
Martina
Drescher,
Oumarou
Boukari,
and
Carline
Liliane
Ngawa
Mbaho
2022
29
“Are they just for venting out?” 19
University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers (XLVIII)
The
Committee
and
the
Uncommitted Material: Assistance
to
Members
in
Need
at
a
Pentecostal Church in Western
Kenya
Lena Kroeker and Yonatan
N. Gez
2022
28
Kamel, Shaden. 2024. “Are they just for venting out?” Exploring discourses on
women-only Facebook Groups on television talk show programs in Egypt.
University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers 48, BIGSASworks! 18.
Bayreuth: Institute of African Studies.
