gisw13_chapters

iranWomen’s rights, gender and ICTsVolunteer ActivistsMaryam Shiraziewww.volunteeractivists.org/enIntroductionThe influences of information and communicationstechnology (ICTs) on culture, politics, the economyand daily lives have caused contradictory reactionsamongst decision makers in Iran. While drasticchanges brought about by technology – including inbusiness and IT services – have not been preventedby those in power, the negative outlook of the governmentsuggests its fear and anxiety over how thesetechnologies might be used in the hands of people.For many years the widespread use of satelliteTV channels among the Iranian population hasbeen prohibited, giving the police and militiamen ajustification to break into people’s houses to seizeequipment and to create a legal context for questioning.At the same time, legislation has been passed tolimit the use of bandwidth and services such as MMSand WiMAX in order to create stricter control over theinternet and mobile services.Even though the major infrastructures in the countryare affected by international sanctions and the ICTsector has not been a major priority in macro planning,the misuse of existing communications facilities is evident.During and after the 2009 presidential election,the rulers’ fear and panic over the use of ICTs by thepeople intensified. Bandwidth and speed were lowered,and the interception of mobile services – suchas SMS – became common practice, as well as surveillanceof landline calls. Internet outages at certaintimes, widespread filtering of internet sites, and noisetransmission to the Persian news satellite channel increased.In the meantime, the presence of the IranianRevolutionary Guard and related entities connected tothe supreme leader and other leaders in major telecominfrastructural projects was strengthened.Based on the mindset of the Iranian regime, especiallyregarding women’s issues, and with an insecureatmosphere dominating the web, the communicationsenvironment in the country has worsened. Thelack of reliable statistics and indicators on gender is aserious obstacle to developing a gender-based analysisof ICT use. This is a matter of concern.ICT penetration rates in IranAccording to a World Economic Forum report and remarksfrom the general director of the Department ofEconomic Surveys at the Ministry of Communicationsand Information, by 2012 Iran ranked 16th among 20countries in the region on the Networked ReadinessIndex, and 104th in the world. According to the samereport, in the ICT social and economic impact sub-criteria,Iran ranks 17th in the region, and 14th in the ICTapplications sub-criteria.Official statistics show a growth in the internetpenetration rate in the country in recent years: accordingto data from the last official census in 2010,approved by the International TelecommunicationUnion (ITU), penetration in urban areas was 18.9%while in rural areas it was only 4%, which indicatesa wide digital gap between these two areas. Penetrationis 16.6% among men and 12.7% among women.But conflicting data regarding the official definitionof “internet users” in Iran hampers the analysis: 1The National Internet Development ManagementCentre reports 59.50% penetration 2 for spring andsummer 2012, with most web connections being mobile.3 If the documents submitted to the ITU are true,the development of mobile networks can be expectedto narrow the digital divide between urban and ruralareas, although the limited speed of GPRS is a considerableissue.Taking on gender-based studies of ICTsThe unfavourable conditions in the ICT industry haveresulted in lost potential to empower women throughthe development of equal work opportunities. Thelack of proper statistics, which include gender indicators,in most ICT research, and a lack of awarenessamongst women’s rights activists of ICT issues andchallenges such as electronic violence against women,suggest the need for more studies in this area.Women’s use of ICTsThe role of the internet and social networks, their influenceon women’s lifestyle and the scale of women’slegal needs online undoubtedly require research.1 www.tabnak.ir/fa/news/2402632 www.matma.ir/matma/mnu-internet-penetration.html3 iraneconomist.com136 / Global Information Society Watch