Beyond #MeToo in Iran: change through informal feminist educational leadership

Abstract

Women’s bodies in Iran have historically been used as a medium to operationalise social control and power. Since the 1979 Islamic revolution, this social control has tightened, manifesting within a misogynistic regime and patriarchal society where lack of legal protection and the culture of shame and silence suppress conversations on sexual harassment, with lack of sexuality education exacerbating the situation. In this context, those involved in the #MeToo movement stepped into an educational vacuum, providing crucial informal leadership around sexuality education, adding to, and building up to, other movements for women in Iran. In this paper, we discuss how informal leaders have used social media platforms such as Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) to help raise awareness of sexual harassment in Iran, help women find solidarity rather than shame, and create an educational platform for sexuality education. #MeToo was an important stepping stone for #feminism that is continuing to date.