Twitter, Women, and Protest in Iran

Social Commentary post by Mandy Van Deven on June 17, 2009 - 2:24pm; tagged elections, Iran, protest, Twitter, women.

Update: I will continually update this post as more news and blog stories are published. The newer stories will be at the top of the list.

Before you start reading this post, go to #iranelection on Twitter and watch how startlingly fast new tweets come in. At 3:30pm EST today (midnight in Iran), I was clocking over a thousand tweets every 60 seconds! Citizens around the world are using the social networking website to have their say, whether making declarations (We NEED to get pictures of the foreign thugs helping the Basiji. Show the world this outrage! --Megan in Tehran), sharing up-to-the-minute news stories and photos (MASSIVE Protest Shot taken in Iran --Morgan), sending statements of solidarity (Praying for the people of Iran. Peace! Freedom! End to bloodshed. --Margie in Philippines), or asking for support (Don't just congratulate yourselves for supporting Iranian freedom. Write your Congressman NOW --Katie in Tehran). This enormous community response has sent corporate news into a tizzy just trying to keep up.

So amid all of the chaos, where are the women? Well, I've taken a moment to gather a handful stories and blogs that give voice to the importance of this election to women in Iran (the number is abysmally low). Check it:

Dreyfuss and Iran’s “Women Commandos”

"Women Commandos" in Iran

Women human rights defender Shadi Sadr arrested

Iranian Feminism after June 2009:A Conversation with Zillah Eisenstein

Iranian women's long struggle for their rights

Iranian Women Bring Century of Activism to Protests

30 Years of Iranian Women´s Resistance

Iran Accuses CIA of Killing Neda

The Women of Iran

Voyeurism and the News

Unveiling the Revolution

Headscarves and Hymen

A Symbol Of Women's Struggles In Iran

Role of Women In Iran Protest Kindles Hope

Iranian Women and The Uprising: Culture, Rights, and Roundhouse Kicks

The Stoning of Soraya M.

Women in Iran's protests: head scarves and rocks

What will become of Iran's "stiletto revolution" now?

Global politics of ‘pretty’ women bends coverage of Iran’s election protesters?

Maryam Rajavi warns against execution of detainees

Iranian Actress Shohreh Aghdashloo Speaks Out Loudly about The Stoning of Soraya M.

No Matter Who Is President of Iran, They Would Stone Me

Maryam Rajavi's speech in gathering of 90,000 Iranians in Paris

Families, women in chadors join Iran's opposition

The Female Face of the Iranian Protest Movement (warning: there is a graphically violent picture with this post)

Iran's Women Revolutionaries Tehran Today June 21

Neda--A Symbol of Revolution

Feminism In Iran Is Going Strong

Iranian Women's Key Role in the Iran Election Protests

Faezeh Hashemi: Advocate Of Rights For Iranian Women

Iranian women demand equal rights

Women and the Iranian Unrest

Zahra Rahnavard takes leadership role in Iran's opposition movement

Defiance of Women of Iran Brings World Attention to Crisis

Iran's Rosa Parks

I am Not Neda

Women At Forefront Of Iranian Protests

In Iran, One Woman's Death May Have Many Consequences

Neda becomes a symbol of the protests

Neda: the New Face of Iranian Protest

Iran and the Woman Question

Women in Iran march against discrimination

Iran's women take a step forwards

Iran's Women's Revolution

The Feminist School: "Women’s Movement in the Run-up to the Presidential Elections in Iran"

We Can't Turn our Backs on Iran

Lipstick Revolution: Iranian Women Take to the Streets

Iranian election could be test for women's rights

Who was really cheated in Iran's vote? Women.

Power of women in Iran's election

Iranian feminist dissident hopes protests will succeed and stay peaceful

The Changing Role of Women in Iran

Iran: Women on front line of street protests

Global Voices Online

In Iran, "Pretty" Is Sometimes The Protest

Iranian Women, Ayatollah: A Genesis of the Iranian Demonstrators

Women on Front Line of Street Protests

Women Emerge as Political Force in Iran

Iranian writer on poll result

Women Rising in Iran

Tehran Women's Peaceful Demonstrations Being Violently Suppressed

Hear the Women of Iran Roar

The government of Iran is rapidly removing stories and blogs hosted in Iran, and preventing new stories from being published by intimidating and detaining journalists and bloggers. Please leave stories and blogs in the comments that provide more insight into how the elections and aftermath are effecting women, especially ones written by Iranian women.

Photos by Faramarz, Christiane Amanpour, and Ben Curtis (AP)

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Comments

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Other stories re: Iranian women

Posted by Julia (not verified) on June 17, 2009 - 8:24pm

Dana Goldstein has two pieces up at TAPPED from the American Prospect:
http://bit.ly/SoTuK and http://bit.ly/NmMlF

(From Twitter, RT @annfriedman @DanaGoldstein)

One more, from HuffPo

Posted by jon (not verified) on June 18, 2009 - 8:31am

Diane Tucker's "Iranian Women: We Feel Cheated, Frustrated, And Betrayed" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diane-tucker/iranian-women-we-feel-che_b_2...

jon

lovely video

Posted by Mandy Van Deven on June 18, 2009 - 11:40am

Translation:

1 (Girl in street): Defending civil rights

2 (Boy next to old man): Counterbalancing poverty/deprivation

3 (Boy pushing away donation box): Nationalizing oil income

4 (Man standing on rooftop): Reducing tension in international affairs

5 (Boy sitting next to satellite dishes): Free access to information

6 (Girl sitting besides her mother): Supporting single mothers

7 (Girl with cast): Knock down violence against women

8 (Boy): Education for all

9 (Boy infront of man locking car): Increasing public safety

10 (Girl on rooftop): Ethnic and religious minority rights

11 (Man on rooftop): Supporting NGOs

12 (Girl in front of wall): Public involvement

13 (Boy and girl): We have come for change

14: Change for Iran

From Andrew Sullivan

http://www.mandyvandeven.com/

Western Media Narratives of Women in the Iranian Demonstrations

Posted by CA NOW (not verified) on June 19, 2009 - 12:51pm

Here's our piece from California NOW on Western Media Narratives of Women in the Iranian Demonstrations.

Another Analysis

Posted by Mimi (not verified) on June 28, 2009 - 6:17pm

I thought I would offer up this post I wrote from Threadbared, a group blog on fashion and politics, called "You Say You Want a Revolution (In a Loose Headscarf)." It's been linked from Jezebel, Muslimah Media Watch, Salon, and Racialicious already.

http://threadbared.blogspot.com/2009/06/you-say-you-want-revolution-in-l...

Link for List

Posted by Mimi (not verified) on June 28, 2009 - 6:29pm

The original post from Threadbared, linked and/or reposted from Jezebel, Racialicious, Muslimah Media Watch, Salon.com, and many other sites, about images of the young and beautiful Iranian woman in Western media coverage:

http://threadbared.blogspot.com/2009/06/you-say-you-want-revolution-in-l...

We covered Neda's

Posted by Fatemeh (not verified) on July 12, 2009 - 12:12pm

We covered Neda's post-mortem image in the media at Muslimah Media Watch: http://muslimahmediawatch.org/2009/06/25/there-will-be-blood-neda-agha-s...

Thanks for this post! I

Posted by sex toys (not verified) on January 6, 2010 - 4:20am

Thanks for this post! I totally share Iranian women's feelings and intentions. I think I would be on the front lines of protest and demonstration also if the official religion of my country taught that I was no better than the property of a man, to be used, abused and discarded at his whim. One of the nasty little realities of the so called "Religion of Peace." If the women are claiming to stop the violence against them, I suppose they are definitely fed up with it.