eWords for New Worlds

Abstract

Abstract The potential impact of the internet on women’s empowerment can be identified in a variety of ways. The internet can provide diverse avenues for women’s social, political and economic empowerment and valuable sites can help with education, health, information and awareness of human rights in the public and the private spheres. Beyond these parameters the internet is also an open gate to the world, one that allows women to join global networks from the confines of their homes and break the boundaries of closed societies. In this article, we explore the changes the internet has brought to the lives of Iranian women. Drawing on interviews with a group of Iranian women who are active internet users in Tehran, we address how they understand and perceive digital empowerment.