زن، زندگی، آزادی - The (mis-)representation of Iranian women in German media

Woman, Life, Freedom] was one of the most used hashtags in 2022, and[ زن، زندگی، آزادی tweets regarding Mahsa Aminis’ death amounted by the end of 2022 to more than 300 million tweets (Walters 2022). To contextualise, Black Lives Matter generated around 63 million tweets over a six-year span, and tweets regarding the Ukraine war occurred around 250 million times in English. So, the hashtags concerning the most recent political upheavals in Iran have outstripped English-speaking tweets regarding the war in Ukraine in only a month (Walters .)2022 Mentioned protests have according to various sources resulted in more than 500 deaths and an estimated 15.000 – 20.000 protestors have been arrested by January 2023 (Paivandi 2022; von Hein 2023). Such arrests also specifically target journalists, with known 70 journalists having been arrested since the start of the protests in September 2022, of which 28 are still being held in detention and possibly facing sentencing (Iran International...Show moreWoman, Life, Freedom] was one of the most used hashtags in 2022, and[ زن، زندگی، آزادی tweets regarding Mahsa Aminis’ death amounted by the end of 2022 to more than 300 million tweets (Walters 2022). To contextualise, Black Lives Matter generated around 63 million tweets over a six-year span, and tweets regarding the Ukraine war occurred around 250 million times in English. So, the hashtags concerning the most recent political upheavals in Iran have outstripped English-speaking tweets regarding the war in Ukraine in only a month (Walters .)2022 Mentioned protests have according to various sources resulted in more than 500 deaths and an estimated 15.000 – 20.000 protestors have been arrested by January 2023 (Paivandi 2022; von Hein 2023). Such arrests also specifically target journalists, with known 70 journalists having been arrested since the start of the protests in September 2022, of which 28 are still being held in detention and possibly facing sentencing (Iran International staff 2023). Despite the direct targeting of protestors and reporters, there remains a great social media presence, along with considerable attention in more traditional media outlets. Specifically in Germany, in which a large part of the European diaspora resides. Thus, the recent uprisings in Iran have led to an increase in interest in German media in Iran, specifically regarding the role of women in this current protest movement. Intimately connected to such interest is the debate about the freedom of Iranian women and their right to veil or unveil. The following research paper will therefore investigate the reporting of German media outlets on the recent political upheavals in Iran and focus on what narratives exist about Iranian women within that coverage. In addition to that, the existing narrative construction about Iranian women will be related to the German self-referential aspect in media coverage, as both matters are intrinsically linked. Accordingly, the following paper will attempt to highlight the narratives concerning the reporting on Iranian women and how such narratives are related to a specific German self-image.Show less

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زن، زندگی، آزادی - The (mis-)representation of Iranian women in German media