This degree project focuses on the representation and intersection of the voice of the Iranian local and the voice of the diaspora in international media, exploring the ‘unity’ of the local and the diaspora as put forth by media during the 2022 protests in Iran.  The death of Jinha Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman in police custody made international news headlines on 16 September 2022 and quickly became a transnational social movement for change against the repression of women in Iran. Making their ‘voices’ visible through the physical acts of protesting in the streets, burning their hijabs (headscarves) and cutting their hair, Iranian women carved out space for themselves in the local public sphere, but also on the global public sphere using social media, and by receiving international news coverage.  Data analysis of information gathered from five international news sources (BBC, Reuters, Al-Monitor, DW, and Al-Jazeera) during the first six months of the protests, highlights the role of international news media in informing audiences of unfolding events on the ground and as a vital platform for the voices of women in Iran and the diaspora, reinforcing the importance of media as a tool in Communication for Development.  As a result of the data analysis conducted, the role of the diaspora in amplifying voices from the ground, especially following internet blocks in Iran, was identified as a key factor of the transnational nature of the social movement in Iran. Interviews with four members of the diaspora shed further light on the complex dynamic between the local and the diaspora during social movements.  The degree project identifies news media as being in a powerful position to inform, raise awareness, and amplify voices while presenting an image of a unified front between the local and diaspora in the context of current protests. However, the true complexity of the relationship between the local and the diaspora is not presented in news media. With unique challenges posed by context, distance, and time, members of the diaspora wrestle with their identity as Iranian but also different, falling somewhere between the local and the global, which impacts their relationship with their home country.

The Murder of Mahsa Amini Under the custody of moral Police caused a wave of protests against the mandatory hijab in Iran. The protests started with women's demands in the street and cyberspace under the feminist hashtag#Womanlifefreedom. The issue of the veil and women's control over their bodies has always been a subject of political controversy in the history of Iran. By re-veiling women and intensifying Islamic values, the Islamic regime has made the veil a symbol and the veiled woman image of an Islamic country, the legitimacy of the Islamic Republic. This study is a discourse analysis of the feminist hashtag in a none democratic context. With empirical research, this study sheds light on users who use a feminist hashtag to strengthen or disrupt a feminist movement in Iran. This study, regarding"the Politics of the Veil," argues that users on Twitter challenge the politics of the veil in Iran by blurring boundaries between public and private spheres under #Womanlifefreedom. Also, through "The Cultural Politics of the Emotions," this study conceptualized by Sara Ahmed argues that politicized emotions limit the construction of internal solidarity under#Womanlifefreedom in Iran. / -

The following paper analyses the similarities and differences as well as the motives and strategies of the demonstrations in Iran which occurred in 2017/2018 and since September of 2022. The findings are discussed using the Rentier State Theory. A pure comparative analysis is not made, rather a case study with the demonstrations as two components. The demonstrations that started in September 2022 is ongoing as of the writing of this paper, despite this are several findings made. Similarities are seen in the participating people between the years, as well as some recurring cities. The biggest differences are the longevity of the demonstrations despite interventions of the regime, the greater unity amongst socioeconomic groups in the ongoing demonstrations as well as the grievances of electoral frauds leading up t. The motive of 2022 is more focused on revolution instead of the reforms of 2017, these differences is however partly uncertain. The strategies were in the beginning similar, with taking of the headscarf as a more prominent action in the demonstrations of 2022. Many of the underlying grievances can be discussed via the Rentier State Theory, for example the democratic deficit and economic hardships. The details and observations are several, but the main conclusion is how the ongoing demonstrations are greater in both numbers, motives, and strategies. The theory is found useful to explain this phenomenon of instability and grievance between state and civilians.