Iran: 'Woman, Life, Freedom.' Internet Shutdown Another Blow Against Women - Mahsa Amini Death
- 'Shutting down the internet is another brutal blow against women by the Iranian regime,' The Guardian, Sept. 26, 2022. A. Akbari. - Ed.
- Decades of activism led to mass protests against Mahsa Amini’s death. Free access to the web has to be a priority now -
- (Photo) Police and protesters clash in Tehran following the recent death of Mahsa Amini. ‘The killing of Mahsa Amini has sparked widespread anger.’ Police and protesters clash in Tehran following the death of Amini.
Woman, life, freedom. These are the words being used repeatedly in Iranian social media posts and carried on banners in the current demonstrations across the country. Three words that may have been a poetic combination in any other context, but not for the women who pay the price of their freedom with their lives. The recent death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, after being detained by the morality police for her “improper hijab” has sparked widespread anger, leading to the deaths of at least 41 others.
The collective fury pouring out on to the streets is a result of decades of oppression against women in Iran. If George Floyd’s killing highlighted the structural racism prevalent in US society, and Mohamed Bouazizi’s suicide in Tunisia paved the way for the arrival of an unforeseen Arab spring across the region, Amini’s death has led to the bursting open of 44 years of Iranian women’s struggle against unjust laws and lack of control over their bodies and sexuality. The first demonstration against the compulsory hijab was held in 1979. Since then, despite constant attempts to suppress it, the women’s movement has persisted.
Activists have seized the possibilities that digital technologies offer in recent years, with campaigns not only for changing laws and policies but also to bring to light more taboo issues such as the policing of the female body, domestic violence, violence in the workplace, sexual harassment and the Iranian #MeToo movement. This is why the regime has moved quickly to shut down internet access, blocking social media platforms such as Instagram and WhatsApp. The purpose of these shutdowns is not just to hinder mobilisation or to block the sharing of videos showing police brutality.
In the past few years, the Iranian regime has been developing a sophisticated surveillance system that transcends conventional internet censorship measures.
The national information network makes it possible to divide Iranian cyberspace into 2 parallel universes: a national network & a global one – which look strikingly similar. The national network, through which vital public services operate & which banks & businesses are strong-armed into using, is heavily pushed by the state through advertisements, is cheaper & faster – and is likely to be exposed to govt. surveillance. The global network could be cut at any minute by the state. The government has been perfecting this system since the last uprising was brutally suppressed in 2019. Even more worryingly, these cyber-surveillance powers could now be combined with newly implemented digital identity cards, which will allow the regime to identify protesters within seconds through CCTV cameras installed across the country...
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/26/elon-musk-iran-women-mahsa-amini-feminists-morality-police
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