Representation of Agency in the First Post-Constitutional Women's Publications Based on Discourse Elements

The current research is a linguistic and historical study of the concept of women's agency and its reflection in the first women's publications of the post-constitutional era. For this purpose, the available issues of Shkoofeh and Zabaan-e-Zanaan, along with some books and articles related to the historiography of women's movements, were examined. The data were analyzed using a combined approach: van Leeuwen (2008) and Halliday's (2004) model at the textual level, and Laclau and Mouffe's (1994) theory at the social level. The analysis of the data showed that, although the purpose of these publications was to promote the equal rights for men and women, exclusion and passivation emerged as the dominant textual strategies. This can be interpreted as the effect of prevailing patriarchal discourses, which consistently posed a threat and imposed limitations on foregrounding the discourses raised by women.
Introduction
Addressing the issue of women's agency in society is of utmost importance. Agency—meaning the capacity to define individual and group goals and to act upon them beyond visible behaviors—is one of the determining factors in empowering women and establishing their social status (Kabir, 2009). Social and cultural relations have long assigned a secondary position to women, and social stereotypes have conhtinually reinforced this subordination. In Iranian society, where traditions have always held a primary position, women's transcendence beyond the traditionally defined role of family institution has been, and continues to be, a subject of discussion.
It seems impossible to pinpoint the exact date when women entered the social scene and began their efforts to reclaim their long-neglected rights. Examining the existing historiography, along with the documents and evidence left by women's movements in Iran, suggests that Iranians' familiarity with Western discourse and its imported concepts also provided a platform for women's movement and growth (Afari, 1998). Secret women's societies, underground publications, and women-authored magazines serve as evidence of this process. These publications are among the few remaining documents from women's movements, and the language used in them represents a social action that reflects the emergence, presence, and agency of women. This article examines the language of these publications as one of the first arenas for women's presence in social issues within the framework of critical discourse analysis, to answer one central question: Based on the linguistic components of the dominant discourses in these publications, how has women's agency been reflected?
Method
The present research is the result of a historical and linguistic examination of available resources in the National Library. These resources include all existing issues of two pioneering women's periodicals, Shokoufeh and Zaban-e-Zanan, as well as books on women's rights from the Constitutional Revolution to the present. Shokoufeh published by Mrs. Maryam Amid (known as Mazineh al-Saltaneh), daughter of Seyed Reza, the chief physician of Naser al-Din Shah's army, was printed every fifteen days for four years from 1913. A total of 67 issues are available in the National Library. The first period of Zaban-e-Zanan, examined in this study, was published in Isfahan by Mrs. Sedigheh Dowlatabadi in 1919. It was published biweekly in its first year and weekly in its second year, with 32 issues accessible for review. The books examined comprise writings by well-known activists in women's studies, including Janet Afary, Eliz Sanasarian, Afsaneh Najmabadi, Homa Nateq, and Mangol Bayat. To clarify certain ambiguities and data deficiencies, some articles concerning women's movements published since the Constitutional Revolution were also reviewed. The selection of articles and books was based on their direct reference to women's publications, associations, and movements.
The data analysis aimed to examining women's agency in their writing. This was achieved by analyzing actions through process analysis and identifying actors via discourse-centered components. The examination employed a combined approach, integrating van Leeuwen's model with Halliday's transitivity processes. For macro-level data analysis, the theory of Laclau and Mouffe was utilized. By applying the key concepts of this theory, the dominant and sub-discourses within the publications, along with their articulation methods, were critiqued and reviewed.
Results
The analysis of the extracted processes from the journals showed that the highest number of processes used were mental processes, accounting for 39% of the total frequency of occurrence. These were followed by verbal processes with 20% and relational processes with 17%. The high frequency of mental processes, which represent mental actions and experiences, may indicate the authors' mental connection with the world around them—thoughts and feelings that still have a long way to go before becoming reality. Statistics also show that in Zaban-e-Zanan, there are more instances of suppression, activation, individualization, and nomination. This could indicate a greater emphasis by the authors of Zaban-e-Zanan on representing female actors and using discourse-oriented strategies to demonstrate women's agency. Conversely, the higher number of passive presentations of women in Shokoufeh might indicate a greater use of passive actors in this publication.
The analysis of data at the social level also shows that, considering the political and social atmosphere of the Constitutional Revolution and the unrest resulting from this social event, once floating signifiers like modernity become hegemonic, Constitutional women find a space to fulfill their demands. Since the agency of the subject is always influenced by dominant discourses that are constantly changing, the subjectivity and agency of women are also continuously influenced, threatened, and limited by the patriarchal discourse.
Conclusion
In the present study, based on critical discourse analysis, the concept of women's agency in the post-Constitutional era was addressed. This process followed the concept of agency based on the discourse elements of the first women's publications. According to the statistics obtained from the analysis of processes based on Halliday's model, mental and verbal processes had the highest frequency, while existential and behavioral processes had the lowest frequency in the writings of these publications. Based on this, one might conclude that women during this period were laying the groundwork for entering society; however, against the existing traditional and patriarchal structures, they had no weapon but words. Thus, they expressed their demands and plans based on mental ideals and entirely at the verbal level. Considering the findings of the study and considering the above points, agency as cultural and social responsiveness was a construct that the Iranian woman strove for, and through the course of history and the multiplicity of marginalizing discourses, she somewhat managed to grasp it.
Ethical Considerations
Not applicable
Funding
Not applicable
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.