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Mujer, Vida y Libertad: Iranians in Spain Practicing Resistance
Abstract
The Iranian diaspora is increasingly manifesting itself as a multi-layered political actor located in the global North and South. With the aim of contributing to a more intricate and colourful scholarly understanding of the global Iranian diaspora, this paper focuses on the resistance practices of first-generation Iranians in Spain, within the Women, Life, Freedom (WLF) transnational support since September 2022. The principal method of investigation has been the semi-structured interview (in Spanish and Farsi) -conducted to first-generation Iranians located in Spain- enriched by an assessment of online resources such as newspapers and social media. As seen in the literature on diaspora politics and transnational political mobilising, socio-political events in the country of origin can provoke the actions of members of the diaspora to move from latency to visibility. This was palpable in Spain, as the WLF movement shifted the resistance practices of organised Iranians in Spain towards a more visible role in the local civil society, as seen in the organising of protests, marches and public talks, as well as participation in media outlets, in support of WLF and human rights in Iran more generally. These collective acts of resistance represent peaks within a continuum of resistance practices that have connected Iranians in Spain to the socio-political events in their country of origin since the 1980s. Following the literature on resistance studies, the resistance practices carried out by these Iranian diasporans respond to dynamics that are both collective and organised, as well as fluid and individual, thus requiring framing within both.
Discipline
Interdisciplinary
Geographic Area
Iran
Spain
Sub Area
None