Beh Tou Cheh? (What’s It to You?): Feminist Challenges in Iranian Social Media

Abstract

Online feminist activism has opened a different path for ordinary Iranians who are not necessarily versed in post-revolutionary discourses on feminism and political activism, nor are familiar with the names and past achievements of Iranian women’s activist pioneers since the birth of the Islamic Republic in 1979. Social media has helped to tease apart government statecraft that continually touts and reemphasizes Islamic values, at the same time providing a platform for a feminist consciousness that more recently has passionately supported individual rights, especially the right to privacy. This chapter delves into this move toward a more individualized form of dissent, surveying the generational, ideological, and technological divides that have emerged among Iranian women’s activists following popular uprisings that have been happening domestically since 2009.

Citation

Batmanghelichi, K.S. (2021), "Beh Tou Cheh? (What’s It to You?): Feminist Challenges in Iranian Social Media", Adomako Ampofo, A. and Beoku-Betts, J. (Ed.) Producing Inclusive Feminist Knowledge: Positionalities and Discourses in the Global South (Advances in Gender Research, Vol. 31), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 125-146. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1529-212620210000031007