The purpose of this study is to attain information on women's use of the Internet by focusing on the ways it has empowered them. Tehran is selected as a field site because nearly one-fifth of the urban population in Iran lives in Tehran. Moreover, the Access to the Internet, particularly in this capital city, has developed enormously in the recent years. The main questions around which I have focused this enquiry are: "Has the Internet made a difference in the lives of women in the city of Tehran? Do they feel empowered by the Internet? This research is based on semi structured interviews which consist of a written list of ten questions. The research sample consists of 40 participants between the ages 13-45 years, whom I have selected through the snowballing sampling technique. The data for this study was collected during the summer 2010. The aim of this research is to attain information on women's use of the Internet and their perception about empowerment, mainly focusing on how much the use of the Internet contributes to their empowerment and in which ways does this occur. The data reveals that 80 per cent of the interviewed women acknowledge that the Internet has a significant impact on their personal and professional life. This group also believes that the Internet has opened up a new space for them. Their empowerment zones were focused on the aspects of individual (physical, psychological, and intellectual wellbeing), political, economic, social and cultural empowerment. However, 20 per cent of the participants stress that the Internet 'may' have made their life easier but has not brought about a big difference to their lives practically. The reason of this disagreement according to their views is related to the major obstacles they encounter in their easy access to the Internet.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:713494 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Golzard, Vahideh |
| Publisher | University of Leeds |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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