by Martha Ndakalako
Abstract
This article considers how the 2020 #ShutItAllDown feminist protests elu- cidate contemporary Namibian feminist activist culture in contrast to earlier generations of Namibian feminist activism. The protests sprung up among youth (particularly women) mostly under 25 years old, a demographic with little political influence and traditional cultural power. Thus, the organisers used strategic, transgressive disruption along with social media as fundamental to their activism. Given Namibia’s historically active and varied feminist and gender activist landscape, the absence of older women and feminist activists (with the exception of Sister Namibia) at these protests is noteworthy. This article asks: how does this absence speak to contemporary Namibian feminist activist culture? what role did social media play in facilitating the dynamic movement that #ShutItAllDown became? how is this movement situated in the context of contemporary transnational and global feminist and hashtag protests? I use mixed methodologies for understanding the movement; along with excavating online spaces, I draw from informal discussions and interviews conducted in 2022 with young and older Namibian women activists. I conclude that while the #ShutItAllDown movement is emblematic of a generational divide in protest practices between contemporary feminist activists and those of previous gen- erations, the acts of solidarity and collaboration between this movement and Sister Namibia, facilitated by social media, are reflective of a culture of feminist solidarity practices between Namibia’s early feminist organisations and the contemporary groups, despite the generational divide. Furthermore, the use of social media in conjunction with disruptive protest resonated with contemporary transnational and global hashtag protest practices, effectively drawing attention to the movement nationally and across the continent.
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06_-FA-Vol-5.1_-Feature-Article_-Ndakalako