To be Myself and have My Stealthy Freedom: The Iranian Women’s Engagement with Social Media

Abstract

The objective of this research is to explore the development of digital social and social movements at the local level through Iranian women's engagement with social media. In this article, I delve into the cultural and social background of a Facebook page named "My Stealthy Freedom" and the practices of "cyber feminism" in Iran through an anthropological perspective. This online movement finds its value in that it has become a new platform for the women to raise their voices in public online sphere about their human right and freedom. By examining the online and offline discourses about Iranian hijab policy, I aim to understand how Iranian society is creating new spaces for the formation of public discourse.142 Some try to remind us over and over again that the freedom that is stealth cannot be called freedom at all. Yes, it is true! And nothing could have revealed it to the world in a better way than all the photos and women's words on this page. These stealth moments of pleasure are not called FREEDOM. So what is the significance of this coming together on this page? The reason is exactly to show that our share of freedom in Iran is STEALTH. These stealthy acts will challenge the absence of freedom, when revealed. Excerpt from the caption under the cover photo of "My Stealthy Freedom" 2

Iranian Women Traveling in vTime: A Cyberfeminist Approach

“…Moreover, with regard to communication patterns and freedom of expression in virtual tourist destinations, the participants of our study did not always show a pronounced willingness to express their opinions with other avatars openly. This seems to be in contrast to existing research on Web 2.0 platforms, which refers to cyberspaces as contexts allowing Iranian women to express their political and social concerns freely (Ebrahimi & Salaverría, 2015;Koo, 2016;Sreberny & Khiabany, 2010). In our specific case, while cyberspace offered increased perceived freedom, it was not seen as an unequivocally liberating space.…”

“…This page is a platform for Iranian women to share photos of themselves unveiled in defiance of the Islamic dress code, which they are obliged by law to follow. While it came to light on Facebook, the campaign's seeds had germinated since the enforcement of the hijab (Koo, 2016). According to Sedghi (2007), this campaign exemplifies how Iranian women have tried to challenge and redefine the state's mandates, not through street protests but through quiet acts of rebellion.…”

“…Among the several types of resistance documented in the literature, there has been increasing interest in the role of technology and the Internet in emancipating women from the patriarchal constraints they have traditionally been subject to (Koo, 2020; McAdam et al, 2020). More specifically, it has been contended that the Internet may help women to overcome some gendered prejudices, mostly due to the relative anonymity granted to women in cyberspace (Koo, 2016; Plant, 1997; Sreberny, 2015). In this regard, the plethora of feminist theories exploring the role of digital culture on women’s experiences and constraints has been referred to as “cyberfeminism” (Daniels, 2009; Flanagan & Booth, 2002; Tazi & Oumlil, 2020).…”

Una aproximación a la situación de las mujeres en el Irán contemporáneo: perspectivas locales y globales

“…A pesar de esto, las organizaciones de mujeres iraníes no han descansado, sino que han llevado su política a los "espacios clandestinos". Las mujeres están utilizando internet y las redes sociales de manera más activa que cualquier otro grupo social para abordar problemas relacionados con los roles de género y las prácticas patriarcales convencionales (Koo, 2016). El uso extensivo de redes sociales como medio de organización social y de manutención de los lazos de sororidad transnacional representan un cambio significativo en las organizaciones de mujeres, ya que permite un alcance y difusión mayor de las actividades realizadas por sus colectivas.…”

Transnational Solidarity with Which Muslim Women? The Case of the My Stealthy Freedom and World Hijab Day Campaigns

“…Despite the campaign's claim to address general issues relevant to Iranian women without defining which groups of women, the social media pages are mostly attended by secular, upper-middle-class Iranians in their 20s to 40s, who are also considered the prominent daily users of social media (Koo 2016). The participants in the campaign appear to be (mostly) happy, young, and beautiful women wearing colorful clothing and makeup.…”