The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of Earth and Mineral Sciences THE GREENING OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN IRAN A Dissertation in Geography and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies by A. Marie Ranjbar © 2017 A. Marie Ranjbar Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2017 ii The dissertation of A. Marie Ranjbar was reviewed and approved* by the following: Lorraine Dowler Associate Professor of Geography and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Dissertation Adviser Chair of Committee Melissa Wright Professor of Geography and Department Head of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Brian King Associate Professor of Geography Sarah Clark Miller Associate Professor of Philosophy, Bioethics, and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Tamara Sonn Special Member Professor, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University Cindy Brewer Professor of Geography and Department Head of Geography *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School iii ABSTRACT What counts as human rights, and whose human rights count? These questions are at the center of my dissertation, which analyzes how social justice movements in Iran strategically frame rights narratives for local and international audiences. Conceptually, human rights are a powerful rhetorical tool, which are often used by social movements as a means of political mobilization. However, states can also appropriate rights discourse to justify violent interventions, severely curtailing spaces of political speech. My analysis of contemporary Iranian social movements explains the limitations of using a human rights framework to address environmental degradation and political repression. Several months of qualitative research in Iran informs my study of the ways in which environmental and pro-democracy activists have ‘greened’ human rights discourse. First, the case of the Orumiyeh environmental justice movement reveals the ways in which environmental conservation is used to make broader human rights claims against the Iranian government. Second, through an analysis of silent protests organized by the Green Movement, I examine how performative silence makes visible both the limits of political speech and resistance to conditions of precarity experienced by Iranian citizens. Through the study of two social justice movements, I argue that international recognition of rights plurality is key to achieving social justice in political contexts where it is challenging to speak openly about human rights. This research draws upon and advances scholarly literatures on human rights, environmental justice, and transnational and postcolonial feminist theory within geography and related disciplines. My research engages with environmental justice scholarship through an examination of how and why environmental concerns are implicated with human rights claims in Iran. Drawing from transnational and postcolonial feminist theory, I examine the ways in which global structures and state practices create conditions that make it difficult for citizens to speak to certain conditions of human insecurity - particularly those experienced by marginalized populations - thus problematizing universal human rights as the normative basis of rights recognition. Findings from my study has significant implications for the ways in which rights are enforced globally by questioning how rights claims are recognized when they are made outside of the normative framework of ‘universal’ rights, particularly when claims reflect culturally and contextually specific circumstances. My case studies demonstrate the critical importance of not only recognizing and engaging with rights plurality, but ultimately the need for new normative bases for addressing human vulnerability that extends beyond singular, universal notions of human rights and justice. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................... v Chapter 1 The Double Bind of Human Rights ............................................................ 1 Chapter 2 State Practices, Geopolitics, and the Limits of Universal Rights ............... 39 Chapter 3 Silence, Silencing, and (In)Visibility: The Geopolitics of Tehran's Silent Protests ....................................................................................................... 66 Chapter 4 The Desiccation of Lake Orumiyeh: Social Identity, Human Rights, and Environmental Injustice ................................................................................. 90 Chapter 5 Listening for Difference, Engaging with Pluralism ................................... 123 Bibliography ................................................................................................................ 132 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thank the members of my committee for their guidance, insights, and support of my dissertation research. I am fortunate to have had such a supportive doctoral committee, all of whom exemplified a feminist ethics of care during my five years at Penn State. I am especially grateful to Lorraine Dowler for advising me – with considerable patience, great imagination, and the opportune use of humor - through every step of my graduate education. Brian King tirelessly helped me navigate challenging literatures and the many obstacles of the academe, all while being incredibly good-natured about my artistic endeavors. I am indebted to Sarah Clark Miller for modeling critical yet generous thinking, and for always leaving her office door open. Melissa Wright provided much needed guidance on the importance of clarity and its significance in shedding light on the larger picture. I thank Tamara Sonn for nurturing my intellectual curiosity as an undergraduate student and for her enthusiastic encouragement of my first trip to Iran in 2003, which certainly set the course for this dissertation. I also want to acknowledge an important mentor, Jennifer Fluri, who introduced me to feminist geography, persuaded me to apply to the dual Geography-WGSS program, and has provided me with invaluable support over the past decade. It is with profound gratitude and admiration that I thank my many hosts, colleagues, friends, and family in Iran. The hospitality of Iranians is legendary, and I am deeply indebted to several Iranian families who advised and nurtured me during my travels to Iran. I am particularly grateful to the Hosseini, Karimzadeh, and Ranjbar families. I thank you all for opening your homes to me, and sharing your memories and hopes for a better future. Mashdi Batul provided me with nourishment and much needed perspective during each of my visits. Amu Masoud was my muse; his knowledge is deep, his warmth limitless, and his humor unmatched! I wish to express special thanks to Dr. Karimzadeh, Armaghan, Mahdieh, Maryam, Marzieh, Pouya, and Yalda. Most importantly, I thank my husband, Morteza Karimzadeh, for his love and immense generosity throughout this process. My deepest appreciation goes to Morteza; this dissertation would not have been possible without his unwavering support and continuous encouragement. I thank Penn State’s Department of Geography and Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies for fostering such an enriching academic environment. In the Department of Geography, Cindy Brewer, Jess Perks, and Marnie Deibler cheerfully and readily helped me navigate all of the administrative aspects of the graduate program. During my first year in the program, Roger Downs and Brent Yarnal offered me advice that proved essential to my growth as a scholar. I also benefitted from the guidance of feminist scholars at Penn State, and I would especially like to thank Gabeba Baderoon, Nergis Erturk, and Joan Landes. I am very appreciative of Lise Nelson; she always shows up, and does so with great enthusiasm. I would also like to thank Gail Boldt for her remarkable generosity and for making psychoanalysis accessible to me, which greatly expanded my theoretical world. I am immensely grateful to Kathryn Gines for her mentorship, which kept me grounded and balanced in my last years of graduate school. The exceedingly kind and effervescent holistic healer, Curtis Swagler, kept me physically well in State College. I am so very appreciative of my graduate colleagues for their witticism, empathy, and brilliant insights, which substantially enriched my Penn State experience. My friendships with Aparna Parikh, Catherine Jampel, and Katrin Nahidi have provided me with intellectual nourishment that has sustained and inspired me throughout graduate school. Five years of rich vi theoretical conversations and acrobatic imaginings with the Niners – especially Don and Elaine Kunze - was one of the most memorable aspects of my time in State College. Kiki and Mitzi were caring and attentive companions throughout the writing process. My Social Science Research Council and Trajectories of Change cohorts helped me to significantly advance my research agenda, and I wish to express special thanks to Amy Ross and Chris Chang, and to Anna Hoffman and Jane Bartels. I would especially like to thank Sarah Abu Bakr, Stephanie Berberick, Katie Falvo, Carolyn Fish, Lauren Golder, Kimberly Harris, Rachel Isaacs, Amin Jadidi, Andrew Marshall, Nari Senanayake, Heather Sinclair, and Emma Velez for their friendships. I am forever grateful to my parents, Mary Ann Laverty and Sia Ranjbar, and my family, especially Robin Laverty and Zoe Secka, for being my most avid supporters during every twist and