Progress Amid Resistance

146 WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAefforts. It has led to an explosion of online journalism, websites, and blogson issues of importance to them. Women’s sites and feminist online journalssuch as Change for Equality, Feminist School, and Meydaan havebeen filtered or blocked dozens of times by the government, and severalbloggers have faced arrest and persecution.Despite living under highly restrictive conditions, Iranian women havebeen resourceful and determined, as recent bouts of activism have demonstrated.They have used e-mail and SMS to create networks among activists,mobilize mass support, and mount street protests. The best examplesare the Campaign for Equality, the coalitions formed to oppose the recentFamily Protection Bill, and the political mobilization surrounding the2009 presidential election, especially the large coalition formed to pressthe presidential candidates on two specific sets of women’s demands. 74 Inthe vote’s aftermath, the authorities censored traditional domestic mediaoutlets and attempted to block foreign broadcasts, but they also crackeddown on Internet access and mobile-phone usage as it became clear thatsuch new media were crucial in organizing protests and communicatingwith the outside world.Increased repression under the Ahmadinejad administration hashampered the expansion of the women’s movement, forcing activists tomake even greater sacrifices as they defend women’s political and civilrights. Nevertheless, the level of gender consciousness, the extent ofdemands for women’s rights, and the organizational skills in networkingand resource mobilization (at both international and domestic levels)that activists currently enjoy is unprecedented in the history of the women’smovement in Iran. This is in part a natural response to the extentof the state’s gross sexism and discrimination against women. However,it is also a result of the efforts of women from the growing middle classwho are highly educated and—thanks to the expanding global feministmovements—acutely aware of the international standards for humanand women’s rights.RecommendationsF The Guardian Council should immediately and unequivocally declarethat women as well as men can stand for election to all public governmentalpositions. The term “rajol” in the constitution should be clarifiedto mean “qualified person” rather than “man.”