Article Review #2: Discrimination and Cyberbullying against Women in Iraq: Exploring Social
Media and Perceived Norms

● Articles relation to the principles of the social sciences;
The article is related to social sciences as it uses surveys and field research in order to
accomplish understanding the effect of cyberbullying on Iraqi women.

● The studies research question(s)
The study’s research question was in short” What is the impact of social media and cyberbullying
on women in iraq?” The questions they asked participants were along the lines of “what are their
society beliefs”, “How does social media affect their ability to be discriminated upon,” and
“whether or not they had any formal or non-formal internet education.”

● Research Method Used
The article used a qualitative research design. The research itself was based on the philosophy of
interpretivism which is a type of research that inspects the relation between events and the
prominent teachings and doctrines of the targeted culture.

● Different data and analysis used
The data collected was qualitative and biased beforehand. This is due to those interviewed being
told what type of questions they were receiving and the fact that these questions would be added
to an article and applied from there. The data itself was based on cyber bullying and the impact
of social media on women in Iraq and how those who are influenced react to the online world.

● Relation to class
The article relates to some of the powerpoints from class such as Parsimony, this is due to the
importance the article writers placed on understanding the divide in digital understanding that
would exist between the researchers and the Iraqi women they were interviewing. Another way
the article related to classroom powerpoints is with its use of natural experimentation. This is due
to the fact that while they certainly were interviewing the women involved, they had no idea
whether or not their relation to tech was healthy or if they would reply out of fear for the
repercussions they would receive once returning to their homes.

● Relation to challenges with marginalized groups.
The article speaks on the limited access and repercussions of women in Iraq as they engage in
the digital world, social media specifically. As social media becomes more frequently used by
the women of Iraq. An uptick of cyberbullying has taken root as well since the country holds
little to no laws regarding cyberbullying and the protection of peoples who use social media.

Describe the overall contributions of the studies to society
This article helped express the fact that Iraqi women are within a society where their lack in
digital literacy makes them overly available to cyber bullying and abuse. This will not only
encourage other women in their or similar areas about the issue cyber bullying is, but hopefully
shine a light on the need for training available to the public. Not only training but also that laws
should be put in place to prevent and punish those who take part in cyberbullying.

Conclusion
In conclusion, the writers of this article did a wonderful job of collecting data and expressing
those who were interviewees understanding and vulnerability to cyberbullying. Through multiple
forms and subsets they dug into how cyberbullying affects Iraqi women and what types of things
affect the women’s reactions to being bullied and whether or not they used social media in the
first place. With this research I hope that they were able to bring the topic of social medias effect
on women as well as the requirement the Iraqi government holds to enact laws on cyberbullying
across the nation both physically and digitally.

“Discrimination and Cyberbullying against Women in Iraq: Exploring Social Media and
Perceived Norms.” International Journal of Cyber Criminology, 2023,
cybercrimejournal.com/menuscript/index.php/cybercrimejournal/article/view/190/72?__cf
_chl_tk=MRaE8CQMCQCC6KF5jH6sBWrSxSpGAc2l6YA927804eE-1711338641-0.0.1.
1-1621.

the women of Iraq. An uptick of cyberbullying has taken root as well since the country holds
little to no laws regarding cyberbullying and the protection of peoples who use social media
Describe the overall contributions of the studies to society
This article helped express the fact that Iraqi women are within a society where their lack in
digital literacy makes them overly available to cyber bullying and abuse. This will not only
encourage other women in their or similar areas about the issue cyber bullying is, but hopefully
shine a light on the need for training available to the public. Not only training but also that laws
should be put in place to prevent and punish those who take part in cyberbullying.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the writers of this article did a wonderful job of collecting data and expressing
those who were interviewees understanding and vulnerability to cyberbullying. Through multiple
forms and subsets they dug into how cyberbullying affects Iraqi women and what types of things
affect the women’s reactions to being bullied and whether or not they used social media in the
first place. With this research I hope that they were able to bring the topic of social medias effect
on women as well as the requirement the Iraqi government holds to enact laws on cyberbullying
across the nation both physically and digitally.
“Discrimination and Cyberbullying against Women in Iraq: Exploring Social Media and
Perceived Norms.” International Journal of Cyber Criminology, 2023,
cybercrimejournal.com/menuscript/index.php/cybercrimejournal/article/view/190/72?__cf
_chl_tk=MRaE8CQMCQCC6KF5jH6sBWrSxSpGAc2l6YA927804eE-1711338641-0.0.1.
1-1621