Beyond Stereotypes: Muslim Women’s Representation and Resistance across Media and Movements in India.

Author(s)	Dr. Mirza Sadaf Fatima
Country	India
Abstract	This paper examines the representation of Muslim women in Indian popular media and contrasts it with their lived realities. Bollywood films, OTT platforms, and news narratives often confine Muslim women to reductive tropes—as hypersexualized villains, voiceless victims, or passive subjects—thereby reinforcing stereotypes and erasing agency. In contrast, movements such as the Shaheen Bagh protests and the Hijab resistance foreground Muslim women as powerful agents of democratic participation and collective resistance. The paper also considers the role of social media, where Muslim women increasingly construct counter-narratives through hashtags, campaigns, and digital activism, challenging misrepresentations and asserting visibility. By juxtaposing mainstream media texts, online practices, and grassroots initiatives, the study argues that Muslim women’s activism unsettles dominant frames and demands a reimagining of gender, visibility, and citizenship in contemporary India. It further highlights the work of Muslim women’s organisations across the country that focus on empowerment, education, and rights, demonstrating how lived experiences consistently resist and redefine constructed stereotypes.
Keywords	Muslim women, postcolonial feminism, stereotypes, lived realities, voice.
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 1, January-February 2026
Published On	2026-01-11
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i01.66171

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