What is Hate Speech

Ideally, social media are positive agents for modernization, empowerment, and gender equity in developing countries. This chapter scrutinizes that assumption by reflecting upon social media representation of leading Zambian women politicians at critical times in their political lives. It highlights the language used in blogs by critically examining its meanings through discourse and rhetoric analysis. Then, it is argued that social media are now extensively used to switch the tide against women occupation of social spaces. The chapter concludes that social media are avenues for hate speech and new glass ceilings and have been appropriated by patriarchy as oppressive tools in sub-Saharan Africa.