Academic women’s silences in Iran: exploring with positioning theory

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we seek to understand the complexity of women outside ‘the centre’ of scholarship by exploring women’s silences in an Iranian University. Building on a framework of external and internal silencing and positioning theory, we analyse in-depth interviews with 15 women and five men from an Iranian University. Using inductive and deductive approaches to data analysis, we find that women's silences are influenced by their positioning due to constraining forces stemming from the political and societal environment as well as their own perceptions of self. We find prevalent storylines rooted in the broader patriarchal Muslim society, sexist cultural norms and unjust laws in Iran that reify women’s oppressed position, exclusion, and silence within the academic workplace. Manifesting through socialization processes and stereotypical perceptions of gender roles, these prevalent storylines silence academic women and position them to be silent. We identify emerging emancipatory storylines that foster women’s positioning from being silenced to being heard.

KEYWORDS:

• Iran
• women
• positioning theory
• silence
• academia

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Between 12 and 1pm in Iran is prayer time, and male and females pray and have lunch in different rooms to each other, which restricts men and women’s informal communication.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Leila Lotfi Dehkharghani

Leila Lotfi Dehkharghani has a dual degree PhD from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in Iran and the University of Warsaw, in Poland. Her research interests are in organisational silence for employees, women's silence in academia in Iran, Poland and different contexts. Leila is also interested in qualitative research methods, comparative studies and grounded theory. Leila has taught courses in the field of Organizational Behaviour and Human Resource Management at public and private Universities.

Jane Menzies

Dr Jane Menzies is a Senior Lecturer of International Business, and the Co-ordinator for Postgraduate Business programs including the MBA at the University of the Sunshine Coast. Her research interests are in gender issues across cultures, and the internationalisation of firms.

Harsh Suri

Harsh Suri, PhD is an Honorary Associate Professor in Learning Futures at Deakin University. Harsh has published in top-tier journals, like the Review of Educational Research and her research focuses on fostering inclusive approaches to evidence informed policy and practice across a wide range of disciplines.