The paper explores how gender is strategically instrumentalized in Iran’s foreign policy amid domestic unrest and worldwide scrutiny, particularly during the
Woman, Life, Freedom movement. Drawing on the feminist constructivist framework in International Relations (IR), this study examines two central questions: (1) To what extent does Iran’s inclusion of women in diplomacy reflect genuine empowerment or symbolic image-making? (2) How are Iranian women in foreign policy roles represented in public discourse, and how do these narratives serve the state’s identity and soft power goals? Through a thematic feminist narrative analysis study of diplomatic speeches, statements, and media portrayals, the paper finds that women’s visibility is often performative, serving as a tool of state legitimacy rather than reflecting substantive agency. Their representation is shaped by religious symbolism, controlled narratives, and the strategic projection of modernity abroad, even as domestic legal and institutional disparities remain deeply rooted in the political system.
