“THE ROLE OF VISUAL ACTIVISM IN CREATING A SOCIAL CHANGE: A VISUAL ANALYSIS OF AURAT AZADI MARCH, PAKISTAN”

Abstract

Visual activism is a mode of communication through which social movement participants connect with their audiences. This visual phenomenon is extremely important to the effectiveness of the movement both internally as well as externally. The visual phenomenon under this study has been defined as the ‘performative dimension’ of the social movement that refers to how movements protests e.g. sit-ins, marches, strikes etc and the props they use i.e. the posters, dressing, installations etc. These visuals help the movements in name recognition, communicating their collective identity, symbolism, attracting participants, providing a sense of belonging to participants–all these considered as internal effects that help sustain the movement. The external effects of the visuals include visual display the movements put up to highlight social justice issues that challenge the existing cultural perceptions and influence public policy. This study first discusses the exiting theories on the significance of visuals in social movements. Secondly, visual framing analysis along with performance theory are used to understand how the visuals in Aurat Azadi March in Pakistan help in sustaining the movement and achieving its objectives. Qualitative data collection and analysis techniques have been used to conduct this research that include in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with the participants of the AAM. The findings and analysis chapter then presents the importance of visuals in the AAM i.e. helping the movement in attracting participants, mobilizing resources, communicating its identity, gaining visibility, creating awareness, and influencing policies. The unintended effects of the visuals have been also discussed as visuals can be manipulated by the opponents to derail the movement. Thirdly, a visual analysis of the visual strategy of the AAM was carried out to see what message the movement organizers wanted to convey and whether they were successful in visually communicating it to their audience. Finally, the concluding chapters presents the policy implications and way forward.