Brayden Greenfield

Teresa Duvall

CYSE 201S

February 11, 2024

Hidden Problems Facing Iranian Women

The world continues to push into a digital landscape, and new threats continue to emerge, however, old issues still prevail. These problems come from old ways of thinking and bring issues to women. In this article review, we will discuss issues relating to cyberbullying, social media, and women in Iraq.

The article relates to social sciences principles because it focuses primarily on Iranian women and their online issues. The researcher’s goals are to find correlations and reasons and apply what they learned to help Iranian women better. They continue to face a higher level of discrimination because of how their culture sees them in terms of religion or family roles. In addition, the paper’s hypothesis is that the prevalence of cyberbullying against women in Iraq leads to illiteracy, a lack of resources, and an absence of criminal legislation.

This article relates to class in multiple ways. One is victimization because Iranian women might see themselves as victims, which indirectly leads to their victimization. Two, psychology and its part in cybersecurity. As we study the minds and behaviors of people, we can find the issues and how to address them. For example, cyberpsychology “examines how we interact with others using technology, how our behavior is influenced by technology, how technology can be developed to best suit our needs, and how our psychological states can be affected by technologies’ (Kirwan, 2016)”. We can find issues and solutions if we understand how people use technology and how it changes. Third is psychological factors that increase the risk of offending. With cultural differences in Iraq, people might be more aggressive or have a lack of interception because that is the way it has always been done. However, that is an old way of thinking and an incorrect way of thinking. Finally, Human Systems Integration (HSI) is interdisciplinary because it focuses on safety in this article. Everything goes back to how we use and perceive technology because it can change how we act through anonymity.

The researchers tried to identify and correlate trends between prejudice and the “present legal framework and enforcement agencies that emphasize addressing cyberbullying incidents targeting women” (Ali et al. p.97). They are also trying to mitigate cyberbullying for women in the future (Ali et al. p.97). Furthermore, issues prevail due to the lack of resources due to cultural differences, and no criminal legislation to protect the rights of Iranian women.

The data they collected and analyzed was the “qualitative questions regarding the fact that whether cyberbullying and discrimination against women are common in Iraq” (p.101). They also included how the country deals with such crimes and used NVivo software to analyze the data. Furthermore, the researchers had to consider ethical considerations to “avoid any inconvenience and maintain a trustworthy relation between the investigator and the research participants” (Ali et al. p.101). In addition, the participants could walk out if they felt like not answering any of the questions.

The article sheds light on challenges and concerns faced by marginalized groups, particularly Iranian women, in the realm of cyberbullying and discrimination. Beyond the broader issue of cyberbullying, it shows how societal norms and cultural expectations allow Iranian women to be harassed and abused. These women encounter more than the typical challenges of cyberbullying but also show the deeply ingrained gender biases and cultural stigmas, like women should stay home and take care of the family. As previously stated the discrimination comes from a cultural background due to long lasting traditions that have not changed.

How does this study bring societal contributions? It brings them by showing us that other countries have different ethics, morals, and standards from United States citizens. Furthermore, it brings to light issues facing Iranians and other women worldwide. With this study people can see the differences faced by other cultures and ways we can help. It will take more than just a paper, but people helping each other, and bringing to light the issues of the old ways, and supporting the better ways.

References

Ali, Saleh Hussain, et al. “Discrimination and Cyberbullying against Women in Iraq: Exploring Social Media and Perceived Norms.” International Journal of Cyber Criminology, vol. 17, no. 2, Nov. 2023, pp. 95–111, cybercrimejournal.com/menuscript/index.php/cybercrimejournal/article/view/190/72. Accessed 7 Feb. 2024.