Kazakh Women’s Visual Religious Identity and Islamic Agency on Instagram
Toktarbekova L. Zhandossova S. Bektenova M.
2025Africa Journals
Pharos Journal of Theology
2025#106Issue 3
This research study analyzes the strategies and forms of religious agency exhibited by Kazakh Muslim women within the social networking platform Instagram. This analysis is situated within the broader context of the digital transformation of religious practices that is currently underway. The authors explore the intricate interplay between Islamic norms, traditional Kazakh cultural codes and the global digital media landscape through the lens of visual content, social media posts, narratives and account descriptions of Kazakh women. Utilizing content analysis and visual analysis techniques, they examine the dynamics between these cultural elements and the representation of women in the context of digital media. The results of the study demonstrate that the Instagram platform offers Muslim women novel opportunities to express their religious identity, visually demonstrate piety and consolidate their position in public space. The authors determine the changing nature of the Islamic Womens Agency in post-Soviet Kazakhstan by analyzing the manifestation of religious and gender identity in social networks based on visualization. The research findings offer a substantial contribution to the understanding of the digital transformation of Muslim womens self-expression practices in modern Kazakh society. This work demonstrates the evolution of religious practices in the digital age and the innovative ways in which Muslim women are establishing new forms of agency within the virtual realm. The findings of the study demonstrate that the Instagram platform can be regarded not only as a medium for self-expression, but also as a space for the emergence of novel forms of Islamic womens agency in post-Soviet Kazakhstan.
digital religiosity , female agency , Instagram , Islam , Islamic feminism , Kazakh Muslim women , visual identity , visual piety
Text of the article Перейти на текст статьи
Institute of Philosophy, Political Science and Religious Studies of Committee Science of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Shevchenko Street 28, Almaty, 050010, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Beibitshilik str. 4, Astana, Z10K8X0, Kazakhstan
Institute of Philosophy
Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan
10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель
Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026