In the absence of an accessible public space, many protest movements around the globe have re-imagined a new public space: social media. In Iran, protest movements have gained considerable support and publicity within the social media sphere, using platforms such as twitter, instagram, facebook, telegram, whatsapp and clubhouse to create coalitions aimed at targeting regime policy, as well as the regime itself.
The Iranian women’s rights movement in particular has been revolutionized by social media. In addition to the My Stealthy Freedom movement started by Iranian activist Masih Alinejad, discussed in a previous blog post, two notable campaigns include the One Million Signatures campaign and the Stop Stoning Forever campaign.
Without going into the specificities of each campaign and movement, as one could write a whole dissertation on the topic, I will briefly examine the factors that shifted Iranian protest movements towards cyberspace, and the effects this has on the Iranian women’s movement.
For years, Women’s Rights activists in Iran would meet in the public space - coffee shops, parks, restaurants, etc - as well as private spaces - individuals’ homes. Upon the advent of increased policing of the public space, particularly after the contentious election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which incited the Green Movement Protests, Iranian protest movements adapted to the expanded repressive State by relocating their movements from the physical public space to the imagined public space: the internet.
This new form of cyberfeminism, thus, gained considerable traction, allowing for feminist movements both within and outside of Iran to flourish. Not only was communication between protestors more easily facilitated through the internet, but messaging reached a far broader audience. The cyberspace effectively included many people who would have otherwise been unaware of the growing discontent within Iranian society.
However, the onset of internet usage to engage in protest also presents many challenges for those within Iran. While the cyberspace provides a far more effective avenue for widespread messaging and connecting with others, it also creates a security risk for the activists. It is far easier to regulate the cyberspace, where the government can track IP addresses, among other things, than it is to regulate the public space.
Furthermore, regardless of the perceived accessibility of cyber activism as opposed to physical activism in the public space, it is still a largely urban phenomenon. While there is increasing cyberactivism activity within the rural areas of Iran, cyberactivism has become largely a tool of the urban city landscape. Therefore, it also in some regards continues to perpetuate a cycle of exclusionary activism, marginalizing the groups it advocates for.
In the words of Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh, the Iranian Women’s Movement has “managed to transform cyberspace into a place for movement making,” however there is much more that needs to be done for the cyberspace to full encapsulate the breadth and depth of protest movements that take place in the public sphere. For effective protest, the Iranian people must engage in a dual form of activism, similar to what was done during the Green Movement of 2009, both within the cyberspace and the physical public space, in order to enact the change they wish to seek. That, however, poses great security challenges that many might not be willing to risk.
Robert Asaadi discusses the White Wednesday Movement on Social Media (12:00)
Hey Ida! What an interesting phenomena to look at. On instinct you would think that the internet would provide a completely liberated space for safe activism, bringing attention to domestic issues to a global audience. But you are smart to point out that censorship and IP dresses can threaten the freedoms of internet activism. I wonder if this is a situation where global advocacy (meaning, outside domestic boarders) could empower and protect the domestically propagated activism?