From Hashtags to Ballots: Social Media and the Mobilization of Women’s Political Participation in Contemporary India

Abstract

In contemporary India, social media has become a significant political arena reshaping democratic participation and political mobilization, particularly for women who have historically faced structural and cultural barriers to political engagement. Digital platforms such as Twitter (X), Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp increasingly function as spaces where political identities are formed, issues are debated, and collective action is organized. This paper examines how social media contributes to the political mobilization of women in India, tracing the movement from online political expression—manifested through hashtags, campaigns, and digital advocacy—to offline participation in electoral processes, political movements, and democratic decision-making. Anchored in the concepts of political communication, media literacy, and digital citizenship, the study analyses how women use social media to access political information, challenge dominant political narratives, and negotiate visibility within the digital public sphere. The paper also critically addresses the political constraints embedded in platform-driven participation, including gendered political harassment, disinformation, algorithmic bias, and unequal access to digital resources, which shape the nature and limits of women’s political agency.

DOI - https://doi.org/10.65525/SVUP.9788199963313.2026.6-29