A feminist analysis of Iranian women's historical 'indoor' performance and its impact on street protests of the Gender Justice movements in contempora

This research project will develop understanding of the ways in which women's performance in Iran intervenes in
public life. It will ask how performance practice contributes to women's responses to political, social and legal
restriction. Analyzing women's historical 'indoor' performances and contemporary protests through the lens of
performance has potential to enrich an expanding theoretical field on activism and performance, and an evolving
repertoire of activist approaches.
I will situate this investigation in a study of Iranian Women's Domestic Performances and Games in the 18th and
19th centuries, also known as 'indoor' performances, which I believe can be considered the historical roots of
contemporary gender activism in Iran. The three contemporary women-led anti-hijab political protest performances
I focus on as case studies in this project will be analyzed with a view to this historical practice. My project on a
feminist study of women's performance in contemporary Iran identifies a gap in theatre and performance as a
discipline, as well as in contemporary Iranian cultural politics, which is particularly vital in the present moment,
given the current uprising in Iran. Additionally, this research draws hithero-unknown connections to older forms of
Iranian performance by women, circumscribing the imperative field of Iranian women liberation and feminist
movement.