Digital sisterhood and social change: Pathways to collective empowerment

This research paper examines the intersection of three aspects of sisterhood, digital media, and collective empowerment among rural women in India. This research draws its findings from thematic coding, and analysis of in-depth interviews of women associated with a project. The study population were participants of training sessions organised by the Kasturi Initiative with various institutional linkages. A qualitative approach was adopted. In-depth interviews were analysed. This research unveils how digital tools like WhatsApp, Google tools, YouTube, OTT platforms, and UPI payments are transforming the lives of these women by making them change their perspectives and train and grow with support and self-reliance. This paper focuses on the aspect of sisterhood, as one of the outcomes of digital usage. The study reveals that women are in the process of overcoming barriers to patriarchal control, and inhibitions of the digital milieu, and have steered through the environment to empower themselves digitally.