Between Repression and Resistance: Iranian Women’s Rights Activists and the Negotiation of Transnational Repression in the Diasporic Space

This paper will explore the gendered nature of transnational repression and how the Iranian women’s movement navigates these threats while engaging in activism. Through semi-structured interviews with Iranian activists across Europe and North America, this paper investigates how authoritarian regimes like Iran weaponise gendered norms and structures to silence women in the transnational space. Transnational repression as a field of inquiry has increasingly documented the ways in which regimes target those who dissent from abroad, yet, the intersection of political repression with gendered subjugation remains underexplored. Women in the diaspora face concerted strategies of harm that shame and stigmatise women as women, grounded in traditional notions of femininity and gender norms that discredit and delegitimise women as authoritative voices on pressing issues within Iran. The pervasive use of misogynistic and sexualised tactics has devastating consequences on the lives of female activists, affecting their ability and willingness to continue their activism. This study equally seeks to understand the strategies women employ to remain engaged in activism, and how this shapes the form of the women’s movement in the diaspora. By foregrounding the voices of Iranian activists and employing an intersectional analysis, this paper reveals the nuanced web of risk, repression and resistance women activists negotiate in the diasporic space.