In 2009, due to the contentious nature of the presidential elections, and the rise of the green party movement, internet crackdowns have become far more strict.
More explicit expressions of dissent as also common: "25 November 2002: Every Day new intrigues and tyrannies by our repressive turbaned rulers...And crazy Muslims around the world that bring nothing but carnage and shame...I swear to god...if it weren't for clergy like Eshkavari who keep telling us that what they do is not Islam...I would abandon this little faith once and for all"[9] Iranian officials became concerned that the 2004 Orange Revolution in Ukraine might induce foreign attempts to support a similar revolution in Iran, by building civil society networks and empowering activists as had happened in Ukraine.
It also began demanding shutdowns and screening of internet service providers, a big step in restriction that had been relatively unregulated.
[12] In 2006 it created a secure training and mentoring website for aspiring Iranian and Afghan bloggers and journalists, with an online magazine edited by Sina Motalebi for the trainees supported by a radio programme for young people in Iran, called ZigZag.
[12] In 2009, internet users and particularly bloggers and online journalists were targeted for arrest and violence after the contested re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who won by a landslide, inciting fraud allegations.
According to ONI, with the sophisticated system of internet filtering developed by Iran, the websites Blogger and Persianblog are often blocked.
Because her human rights work had much to do with representing women, children, and dissidents against the regime, the official Iranian news failed to report the win.
Several hours later it included in the nightly news a 15-second mention of the win, while failing to report her actual accomplishments aside for "a children's charity."
Nasrin Alavi, author of We Are Iran, brings the statistics of www.damasanj.com, a website which works out which stories are most talked about in the Iranian blogosphere, which found that Ebadi dominated the top ten Rankings.8 Most were congratulatory, and sought to provide bios and facts on the nature of Ebadi's work, which the traditional press had failed to print.
They called for people to celebrate her victory, as well as use the venue to protest the current situation of women's rights and oppression.
[17] The December 2003 Bam earthquake caused particular outrage and made clear the necessity for blogging as a news source.
For example, Dr. Marajan Haj-Ahmadi's blog became one of the most read, as she was based in the bordering city of Kerman and was able to report from the area and provide information as to the medical inadequacies.
Others included Baba's blog, an anonymous ex-newspaper journalist who entered the region to provide accurate news reports from the disaster zone.
The survivors of the Bam earthquake also began protesting due to lack of governmental support, which went unreported in the official news but the shooting of two individuals at a Friday prayer was reported by bloggers.
They organized hospital visits, charity sales, and recruited volunteers ready to help in BamThe translation from a virtual page into actual human mobility lent legitimacy to the blogger movement, as well as proving it to be a resilient form of networking that had practical applications.
It also proved the fears of the government in that it began to resemble a movement rather than simply disconnected expressions of personal experiences.
Many of their families left during the Brain-drain following the Islamic revolution in 1979 and after, creating a dedicated politically motivated and educated author base.
The outlet often provides a means to escape the need to identify oneself openly, particularly as family honor can be associated with women.
They can talk about premarital sex, underground parties, alcohol and other youth activities often frowned upon or considered illegal.
Due to the extremely high education rate of women, females even surpassing males in enrollment in university, access and literacy are readily available.