Blogging in Iran

This is going to be somewhat off topic, but I feel like what I learned today is of importance.

Today, I attended the International Festival at UCO. It's a festival where all the different ethnic groups from our school come to set up a table and teach students about their culture. When I first arrived, I was immediately drawn to the Iran table. My sweet boyfriend is from Iran so I am fascinated by and love their culture. I had the opportunity to speak with Maryam Amighi about her views on blogging in Iran.

Maryam told me that the internet is highly censored in Iran. She explained that the last president, Mahmoud Almadinejad, was very strict on journalists and bloggers and had many arrested and executed for posting things about the government online. Almadinejad soon realized that blogs could be used for himself, so he started a pro government blog.

After Hassan Rouhani was elected this year, there have been some improvements. Maryam explained that they are not as harsh on internet censorship and Rouhani even has his own Twitter account (@HassanRouhani). She also told me that people are starting to be encouraged to utilize blogs.

This was an eye-opener for me. I simply can't imagine living in a world where I wasn't able to post freely on the internet what I please. I started this blog simply for a class, but I'm realizing the importance of it. I feel privileged to live in a country where I am able to express how I feel with no lurking consequences. Just something for all of you to think about.

-Mandi xoxo