Digital nations and fragmented identities: women, nationalism and online politics in A Burning and Americanah

Abstract

This paper analyzes how nationalist media and digital politics shape women's voice and identity in Megha Majumder’s A Burning (2020) and Chimamanda’s Ngozi Adechie’s Americanah (2013). Using close textual analysis, this paper investigates how gender, race, class, religion and nationalism influence whose voice is heard or silenced within digital media. Drawing on postcolonial feminism, nationalism theory and digital media studies, this paper explores that digital platforms are not neutral spaces to express freely, rather it’s a site of power, surveillance and public judgements. Through the character of Jivan and Ifemelu, this paper argues how digital space can enable and restrict women’s agency. This digital space is not neither neutral nor equally accessible, rather it is a space that remains unequal, constructed and deeply structured by power. Ultimately, this paper offers a critical analysis of how contemporary literature exposes the limits of digital freedom and challenges the dominant nature of it, regarding voice, belonging and empowerment in the digital age.