Session 13: Struggle for Equity
Abstract:
This talk focuses on two interrelated questions: What effect did new media have on the Iranian women’s movement; and what impact did the women’s movement have on the Green Movement. We will discuss the emergence and significance of new social communication technologies on struggles for social equality and the development of the women's movement in Iran during a 100-year politically and historically significant period. During this period, Iranian women contributed actively to major political transitions including the Constitutional Revolution of 1905 and the Revolution of 1979. Yet efforts to secure equal rights achieved less success. This study examines four decades post-1979 revolution. The first two decades, the women’s movement struggled to be heard. The third decade from 1999, the movement gained momentum. The Internet, mobile phones and new media created opportunities to organize, build support abroad and mobilize large exile communities. Beginning 2006 worldwide Internet and global communication raised hopes for new effectiveness. This study analyzes new media usage by women and civil activists in Iran, and its impacts and consequences on the women’s movement and interactions with political movements in Iran.
Speaker’s Biography:
Rezvan Moghaddam is an independent researcher on gender studies and social issues with a focus on women's issues in Iran and the Middle East. She has research experience in both VU Amsterdam and Maynooth University, Ireland. She also has very strong public relations with activists of the women's movement in Iran and Afghanistan and is working with the Berlin Youth office (Jugendamt Berlin) to help refugees with psychological and occupational counseling and empowerment to coordinate with the host country.