At the Intersection of Multiple Identities: The Case of Iranian Azerbaijani Women

Abstract

Hegemonic discourses of women’s issues in Iran have commonly essentialised Iranian women as oppressed under one notion of Islam, and the forced veil has been rendered central to their persecution. This essentialist approach has cast a shadow over the diverse and unique experiences of women in Iran, including Iranian Azerbaijani women who have been experiencing multiple systems of discrimination and oppression due to diverging axes of their identity categories, such as a woman and an ethnic minority member within Iran. In this research, through conducting seven virtual qualitative interviews and employing an intersectional approach, I seek answers to the questions that include how the intersection and/or simultaneous interaction of Iranian Azerbaijani women’s multiple identity categories shape their experiences of discrimination and subjugation and what role these experiences play in power relations and the formation of their agencies. Through Iranian Azerbaijani women’s experiences of inequality and disadvantages by both state-tolerated discriminatory practices and behaviours against Azerbaijanis in Iran and under the gender- blind law and structure of the Islamic government, as well as within their own wider patriarchal community, I argue how Iranian Azerbaijani women’s struggle against racism has become secondary to Iranian women’s movements and experiences of sexism to Azerbaijanis’ movements in Iran, and how these women formulate their own methods and forms of resistance to survive in a system of multiple oppression and constraints. Furthermore, I also discuss Iranian Azerbaijani women’s sense of belonging and identity in relation to their situationally dependent individual identities. In the main, through specifics of Iranian Azerbaijani women’s experiences, I attempt to provide a better understanding and empathy with any other woman around the globe who also experiences mutually intertwined systems of inequality and discrimination.

Date of Award	2023
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	HBKU College of Humanities and Social Science