Censorship in Iran

     Iran's government has been censoring the people from information that relates to women's rights, freedom of speech, democracy, news, religious content and most recently, social media tools. Although this censorship is seen as a measure to maintain the stability of the country and the control of the government, the ban of the internet and social media has caused an alarming uproar in Iran bringing upon rioting and protesting that lead to violence to misfortune.
     The internet ban blocks access to political, human rights, women's sites, and weblogs. Most common to us, social networking sites such as Facebook and YouTube are among those.
     After years of protesting, the government has begun to make attempts at pleasing it's people by creating sites that they feel "fits" their criteria. The latest is Hadinet.ir, which is targeted for young, middle class Iranians. The site is devoted to Imam Naghi, an Iranian saint and it is comprised of collections of quotes attributed to the imam and posts by members who express their love and devotion to him. Although the purpose of the site is to express religious devotion, Iranian critics believe the site will likely join the long list of the banned because it is inevitable that young people will misuse the site with actions such as making fun of state policies and religious rulings.
     Sites such as these are doing nothing for Iran in terms of allowing them social media access. If anything it is angering them more because it is not just social media, it's religion---and it's the only one available which leaves little room for personal choice. Due to the fact that Iran blocks so much, it is impossible for me to say whether this movement or the internet is positive or negative for the country because the change is so small and so few Iranians even believe it will last long. Many articles on the site are short, sweet, and to the point, which also leaves me with too broad of an idea of exactly how the Iranians feel. Also, they don't have any internet access to express it!