Skip to main content

Internet-mediated Communication in Activists’ Internal Networks: The Case of Iranian Women’s Rights Activism

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Digital Media and the Politics of Transformation in the Arab World and Asia
  • 716 Accesses

Abstract

This study provides firsthand empirical evidence about impacts of Internet-mediated communication on Iranian activist groups. It concentrates on women’s rights activism, which is one of the most prominent and dynamic activist circles in the country. Since the early 2000s, women’s rights activist groups have intensely relied on digital communication for their public outreach as well as for building or strengthening internal relations (Tohidi, 2009; Akhavan, 2011; Shirazi, 2012).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Akhavan, N. (2011). Exclusionary Cartographies: Gender Liberation and the Iranian Blogosphere. In R. Bahramitash, & E. Hooglund (Eds.), Gender in Contemporary Iran: Pushing the Boundaries (p. 62-82). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amir-Ebrahimi, M. (2008). Transgression in narration: The lives of Iranian women in cyberspace. Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies, 4(3), 89-115.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ayres, J. M. (1999). From the streets to the Internet: The cyber-diffusion of contention. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 566(1), 132-143.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bahramitash, R. (2007). Iranian Women during the Reform Era (1994-2004): A Focus on Employment. Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies, 3(2), 86-109.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barlow, R., & Akbarzadeh, S. (2008). Prospects for feminism in the Islamic republic of Iran. Human Rights Quarterly, 30(1), 21-40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Behravesh, M. (2014). Iran’s Reform Movement: The Enduring Relevance of an Alternative Discourse. Digest of Middle East Studies, 23(2), 262-278.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, W. L. (2003). Communicating global activism. Information, Communication & Society, 6(2), 143-168.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, W. L. & Segerberg, A. (2012). The logic of connective action: Digital media and the personalization of contentious politics. Information, Communication & Society, 15(5), 739-768.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bimber, B., Flanagin, A. J., & Stohl, C. (2005). Reconceptualizing collective action in the contemporary media environment. Communication Theory, 15(4), 365-388.

    Google Scholar 

  • Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101.

    Google Scholar 

  • Braun, V., Clarke, V., & Terry, G. (2015). Thematic analysis. In Rohleder, P. & Lyons, A. C. (Eds). Qualitative Research in Clinical and Health Psychology (p. 95-113). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillian.

    Google Scholar 

  • Breuer, A. & Farooq, B. (2012). Online Political Participation: Slacktivism or Efficiency Increased Activism? Evidence from the Brazilian Ficha Limpa Campaign. Retrieved from https://ssrn.com/abstract=2179035

  • Christensen, H. S. (2012). Simply slacktivism? Internet participation in Finland. JeDEM-eJournal of eDemocracy and Open Government, 4(1), 1-23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, J. D. & Themudo, N. S. (2006). Linking the web and the street: Internet-based “dotcauses” and the “anti-globalization” movement. World Development, 34(1), 50-74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deibert, R. J. (2000). International plug’n play? Citizen activism, the Internet, and global public policy. International Studies Perspectives, 1(3), 255-272.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diani, M. (2000). Social movement networks virtual and real. Information, Communication & Society, 3(3), 386-401.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eagleton-Pierce, M. (2001). The internet and the Seattle WTO protests. Peace Review, 13(3), 331-337.

    Google Scholar 

  • Earl, J., Kimport, K., Prieto, G., Rush, C. & Reynoso, K. (2010). Changing the world one webpage at a time: Conceptualizing and explaining Internet activism. Mobilization: An International Quarterly, 15(4), 425-446.

    Google Scholar 

  • Esfandiari, H. (2010). The women’s movement. In R. Wright (Ed.), The Iran primer: Power, politics, and U.S. policy (p. 45-48). Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fazaeli, R. (2007). Contemporary Iranian feminism: Identity, rights and interpretations. Muslim World Journal of Human Rights, 4(1), 1-24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garrett, R. K. (2006). Protest in an information society: A review of literature on social movements and new ICTs. Information, Communication & Society, 9(2), 202-224.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harlow, S., & Harp, D. (2012). Collective action on the Web: A cross-cultural study of social networking sites and online and offline activism in the United States and Latin America. Information, Communication & Society, 15(2), 196-216.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harp, D., Bachmann, I. & Guo, L. (2012). The whole online world is watching: Profiling social networking sites and activists in China, Latin America and the United States. International Journal of Communication, 6, 298-321

    Google Scholar 

  • Iran country profile (2015). Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middleeast-14541327

  • Jahanshahrad, H. (2012). A genuine civil society and its implications for the Iranian women’s movement. Women’s History Review, 21(2), 233-252.

    Google Scholar 

  • Juris, J. S. (2005). The new digital media and activist networking within anti–corporate globalization movements. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 597(1), 189-208.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khiabany, G. & Sreberny, A. (2010). Blogistan: The internet and politics in Iran. London: I.B. Tauris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kian, A. (1997). Women and politics in post-islamist Iran: the gender conscious drive to change. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 24(1), 75-96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koolaee, E. (2012). Women in the Parliament. In Povey, T. & Rostami-Povey, E. (Eds.), Women, Power and Politics in 21st Century Iran (p. 137-152). London: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, Y. H. & Hsieh, G. (2013). Does slacktivism hurt activism? The effects of moral balancing and consistency in online activism. Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (p. 811-820).

    Google Scholar 

  • Mahdi, A. A. (2004). The Iranian women’s movement: A century long struggle. The Muslim World, 94(4), 427-448.

    Google Scholar 

  • Melucci, A. (1995). The Process of collective identity. In H. Johnston & B. Klandemans (Eds.), Social Movements and Culture (p. 41-63). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Menashri, D. (2013). Hassan Rouhani: Iran’s New Hope for Change. Strategic Assessment, 16(2), 7-21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Michaelsen, M. (2011). Linking up for Change: The Internet and Social Movements in Iran. In Schneider, N. C. &, Graf, B. (Eds.), Social Dynamics 2.0: Researching Change in Times of Media Convergence (p. 105-125). Berlin: Frank & Timme.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mir-Hosseini, Z. (2002). Debating Women: Gender and the Public Sphere in Post-Revolutionary Iran. Civil Society in the Muslim World: Contemporary Perspectives, 95-100.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mohammadi, M. (2007). Iranian Women and the Civil Rights Movement in Iran: Feminism Interacted. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 9(1), 1-21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morozov, E. (2009). Foreign policy: brave new world of slacktivism. National Public Radio. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104302141

  • Nielsen, R. K. (2009). The labors of Internet-assisted activism: Overcommunication, miscommunication, and communicative overload. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 6(3-4), 267-280.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rotman, D., Vieweg, S., Yardi, S., Chi, E., Preece, J., Shneiderman, B., Pirolli, P. & Glaisyer, T. (2011). From slacktivism to activism: participatory culture in the age of social media. CHI’11 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 819-822).

    Google Scholar 

  • Sameh, C. (2010). Discourses of Equality, Rights and Islam in the One Million Signatures Campaign in Iran. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 12(3-4), 444-463.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shirazi, F. (2012). Information and communication technology and women empowerment in Iran. Telematics and Informatics, 29(1), 45-55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shojaei, M. (2012). Central Role of The Women’s Movement in the Civil Society. Retrieved from http://melimazhabi.com/?maghalat=-ارزش-ھستهای-جنبشزنان-در-جامعه-مدنی

  • Simi, P., & Futrell, R. (2006). Cyberculture and the endurance of white power activism. Journal of Political and Military Sociology, 34(1), 115-141.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skoric, M. & Poor, N. (2013). Barriers to Entry and Online Political Activism. Proceedings of the Conference for E-Democracy and Open Government (pp. 343-349).

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, M. F. & Ferguson, D. P. (2010). Activism 2.0. In R. L. Heath (ed.), Handbook of public relations (pp. 395-408). Thousand Oaks et al.: Sage Publications. 2.0: Researching Change in Times Berlin: Frank & Timme.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skoric, M. & Poor, N. (2013). Barriers to Entry and Online Political Activism. Proceedings of the Conference for E-Democracy and Open Government (p. 343-349).

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, M. F. & Ferguson, D. P. (2010). Activism 2.0. In R. L. Heath (ed.), Handbook of public relations (p. 395-408). Thousand Oaks et al.: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Surman, M., & Reilly, K. (2003). Appropriating the Internet for Social Change: towards the strategic use of networked technologies by transnational civil society organizations. Social Science Research Council. Retrieved from http://library.uniteddiversity.coop/Effective_Organising/Appropriating_the_Internet_for_Social_Change.pdf

  • Tohidi, N. (2009). Women and the Presidential Elections: Iran’s New Political Culture. Retrieved from http://www.juancole.com/2009/09/tohidi-women-and-presidential-elections.html

  • Treré, E. (2012). Social movements as information ecologies: Exploring the coevolution of multiple Internet technologies for activism. International Journal of Communication, 6, 2359-2377.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vakil, S. (2011). Women and politics in the Islamic republic of Iran: action and reaction. London: Continuum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vakil, S. (2013). The Iranian women’s movement: agency and activism through History. Orient-IV.2013. Retrieved from www.sanamvakil.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Orient_IV_2013.pdf

  • Van Aelst, P. & Walgrave, S. (2002). New media, new movements? The role of the internet in shaping the ‘anti-globalization’movement. Information, Communication & Society, 5(4), 465-493.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yeganeh, N. (1993). Women, nationalism and Islam in contemporary political discourse in Iran. Feminist Review, 44, 3-18.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mina Naeli .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Naeli, M. (2018). Internet-mediated Communication in Activists’ Internal Networks: The Case of Iranian Women’s Rights Activism. In: Richter, C., Antonakis, A., Harders, C. (eds) Digital Media and the Politics of Transformation in the Arab World and Asia. Studies in International, Transnational and Global Communications. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-20700-7_6

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-20700-7_6

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer VS, Wiesbaden

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-658-20699-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-658-20700-7

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics