1. Women of the Iranian Diaspora: Political Mobilisation and Women’s Rights in Iran
Sanaz Nasirpour
School of Social and Political Science
The University of Melbourne
Sep 2016

2. Iranian Women’s Status and Struggle Since 1979 Revolution
No basis of equality between men & women in many laws (Family Law and the Iranian Constitution)
Women as subjects of the private realm
Women as second-class citizens
Debate on their election as ambassadors, judges, attorneys general, ministers or President
Rejaal-siyassi (رجال سیاسی) literally means ‘men of politics’ debatable concept
Limited participation in decision-making process and macro-level management
Iran’s Government Institutions
Source: Peter Mandavill, Global Political Islam (2010)

3. Women’s Role in the Socio-political Movements
The 1979 Revolution
Demonstration against the state’s Islamic gender policy (March 1979)
Peaceful protest to change discriminatory laws against women (June 2006)
Presidential election uprising (2009)
Feminists campaigns

4. Iranian Women in Diaspora Major Waves of Migration
Before the Revolution (1950s-1970s)
Consequence of the industrialisation of the country
To attend Western Universities (Bozorgmehr & Sabagh 1988)
After the Revolution (1979), followed by the Iran-Iraq war ( )
For political & religious reasons (Ghorashi & Boersma 2009)
Representing their culture (Naficy 1991, Spellman 2004)
The Post-Revolutionary Period
The shifting perceptions from nostalgic to strategic, influenced by online & offline networks
Many were active in the 2009 Green Movement

5. What is my PhD doing? Naturalist & Qualitative Approach
Narrative Analysis
Semi-structured interviews with 15 women
Self-identified as being feminist, activists or scholars
Born in Iran
Current locations: the USA, Europe, Australia
Age: From their 30s-60s

6. Current Contributions of Iranian Diaspora Women to the Homeland
Providing platform for exchange of ideas
Increasing awareness at international level
Financial & emotional supports
Issue-based support both in academic & activist levels

7. Quotes from the Participants about Existing Challenges
Questions of legitimacy
Participants such as Rezvan think it is not a good idea to make division between ‘inside’ and ‘outside’, she thinks:
“The government has affected some people’s vision and they think those who live abroad have no right to interfere with the homeland’s issues. Some people inside Iran provoke this idea and they are experiencing self-censorship. Outside Iran, some activists blame themselves, they think they have no right and cannot do anything about Iran as far as they are outside.” (Interview with Rezvan Moghaddam, 12 January 2016)
Generational gaps
A number of women especially from the new generation believe that generational differences can pose problems. Zeinab notes:
“ We are currently dealing with imbroglio between old and new generation of women (especially those who left Iran after 2009 presidential election). The generational gap makes it very difficult for building work relationships. … Outside Iran, most activists especially those who belong to the previous generation used to work in closed political structures and parties. It can make collaboration very difficult. Their formal authority makes the situation hard, everyone should respect them and we can not question them. The Iranian Women's Studies Foundation is a good example. There has been a great deal of discussion around the role that Golnaz Amin, the IWSF founder and chairperson, plays in the conference committees, people criticizing her for imposing her ideas.” (Interview with Zeinab Peyqambarzadeh, 26 Oct 2015)

8. Quotes from the Participants about Existing Challenges
Different expectations of working together
In this regard, one of the interviewee, Parvin shares her experience as follows:
“It is very hard because we don't get used to it. From social psychology perspectives, there is always a big concern over growing competition between people. We have to define and redefine ourselves, criticize ourselves. We don't see this very often. That is helpful to advance our activities. We were trying to apply this strategy in the One Million Signature Campaign, but the conflicts arise over who has the power, and this decreased the nature of collective leadership. So we should rethink especially with a view to adopt our activities with Iran's power structure.” (Interview with Parvin Ardalan, 23 Jan 2016)
Geographical distribution & communication difficulties
Participants such as Azadeh who lives in Australia for more than five years claims:
“Geographical distribution within Australia. It is not like Europe. It is difficult to organise an event in Australia. Activists and feminists in Australia, who were part of women’s movements in Iran and cared about women’s issues back in Iran, are no longer active in here. They have less connection to women’s activists in Iran in comparison to those who live in Europe or the USA.” (interview with Azadeh Davachi, 23 Oct 2015)

9. References
Bozorgmehr, M., & Sabagh, G. (1988). High status immigrants: A statistical profile of Iranians in the United States. Iranian Studies, 21(3-4), 5-36.
Ghorashi, H., & Boersma, K. (2009). The ‘Iranian Diaspora’and the New Media: From Political Action to Humanitarian Help. Development and Change, 40(4),
Mandaville, Peter. (2010). Global Political Islam: Routledge.
Naficy, Hamid. (1991). The poetics and practice of Iranian nostalgia in exile. Diaspora: A Journal of Transnational Studies, 1(3),
Spellman, Kathryn. (2004). Religion and Nation. Iranian Local and Transnational Networks in Britain. New York et al.: Berghahn Books.

10. Thank you …