Women in Iran: The effect of marital status and the presence of family dependents at home on their use of the internet

Authors

  • Yeslam Al-Saggaf School of Computing and Mathematics, Charles Sturt University
  • Saeed Shariati School of Engineering & Information Technology, Murdoch University
  • Mark Morrison School of Management and Marketing, Charles Sturt University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15353/joci.v13i3.3394

Keywords:

Digital divide, Iran, role of women, societal factors, inequality, access to internet, regression analysis

Abstract

Few studies have analyzed how women in Iranian communities use the internet. Our study investigates the effect of marital status and the presence of family dependents at home on their extent of internet use. Our analysis found that while higher incomes, having internet at home, being a student, and having higher qualifications can all increase Iranian women’s chances of using the internet more regularly, looking after a husband or having family dependants at home can have a significant and negative effect on their ability to use the internet on a regular basis. The findings from our small study suggest that less time to access the internet may mean less opportunities for Iranian women to contribute to their communities such as by voicing their opinions and concerns about societal issues that matter to them and by petitioning for change. It may mean less opportunities for participating in political events such as elections.

Author Biographies

Yeslam Al-Saggaf, School of Computing and Mathematics, Charles Sturt University

Yeslam Al-Saggaf is an Associate Professor in Information Technology at Charles Sturt University. He has been an academic at Charles Sturt University since 2003 and has been successful in the prestigious Australian Research Council (ARC) grants three times so far including in one as the Lead Chief Investigator. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree (with honours) in Computer and Information Engineering from Malaysia and a Master of Information Technology and a PhD from Charles Sturt University, Australia. His research interests lie in the areas of social media and ethics in computing. For information about his publications please visit this page: http://csusap.csu.edu.au/~yalsagga/

Saeed Shariati, School of Engineering & Information Technology, Murdoch University

Saeed Shariati has Bachelor of Information Technology (Hons) and a Master of Information Technology from Charles Sturt University and is currently a PhD Candidate at Murdoch University

Mark Morrison, School of Management and Marketing, Charles Sturt University

Mark Morrison is a Professor who teaches both economics and marketing. He has worked at CSU since 1999. He is Sub-Dean Research in the Faculty of Business and Associate-Director of the Institute for Land, Water and Society. In recent years his research has been funded by the Australian Research Council (Discovery and Linkage Grants), US Environmental Protection Agency and National Science Foundation (Star Grant), NSW Environmental Trust, Land and Water Australia, Country Energy, IPART and the US Forest Service.

Downloads

Published

2017-12-18

Issue

Section

Research Articles