Speaking in the Shadows: How Everyday Pakistanis Are Redefining Voice and Power

About this episode

Dr. Munira Cheema discusses how everyday Pakistanis are redefining voice and power through social media and café culture.

In an age where a single post can spark a national debate, the question of who gets to speak and who is heard has taken on new urgency. In her book, Dissenting Counter-Publics in Pakistani Social Media and Café Culture, Dr. Munira Cheema of King’s College London invites readers into a complex and evolving landscape where voices once pushed to the margins are finding new ways to emerge. Drawing from both digital platforms and physical gathering spaces, her work reveals how ordinary citizens are reshaping conversations about identity, power, and belonging in Pakistan.

People in this episode

Guest: Dr. Munira Cheema

Topics covered

• social media
• identity
• power
• belonging
• Pakistan
• citizen voices

Keywords

• Pakistan
• social media
• identity
• power
• belonging
• citizen engagement
• Dissenting Counter-Publics

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: King’s College London

Books & works: Dissenting Counter-Publics in Pakistani Social Media and Café Culture

Places: Pakistan

More episodes of SciPod

• Seeing the Invisible: How Polarized Light Contributes to Our Understanding and Detection of Cancer · June 11, 2026 · 15 min
• When Standing Up Knocks You Down: Why Postural Hypotension Goes Unnoticed · June 10, 2026 · 10 min
• The Secret Life of the Margay in Peru’s Rainforest · June 9, 2026 · 12 min
• On the Front Lines of a Pandemic: Sierra Leone’s Field Epidemiology Training Program Success Story · June 3, 2026 · 14 min
• Quand la chaleur rencontre la route: comment la hausse des températures modifie la sécurité routière en milieu urbain · June 1, 2026 · 10 min
• From Silence to Survival: 150 Years of Laryngectomy and the Future of Voice · May 31, 2026 · 9 min