Radio Zamaneh is launching the online voting quiz www.mangozin.com to raise Iranian citizens’ political consciousness and make people aware of the ways in which a democratic government can and should address certain issues. The “ManGozin” voting tool contains 30 hypothetical questions on various social issues and the results will directly indicate participants’ personal political standpoint.
In the past decades, Iranian citizens have increasingly voiced the need for more freedom and democratic reforms. Large scale national protests, especially in the aftermath of the 2009 presidential elections, have been brutally suppressed by the Iranian regime. Yet the question remains: do Iranians really understand what democracy means and what kind of changes a democratic system will bring to a country governed by monarchs and clerics since the beginning of history?
Since the massive support for the first reformist leader Khatami in 2004, we know that many Iranians want a secular, fair and democratic form of politics. But so far, none of the political parties and organizations in Iran, both conservative and reformist, seem to have a serious party manifesto and agenda to address the various issues that politicians have to deal with once they are in power.
“ManGozin” (My Choice) is a voting quiz that raises Iranian citizens’ political consciousness by making them understand how voting in a real democracy would look like and what kind of choices are important. Through this tool, the abstract concept of “democracy” becomes more tangible as citizens will have to reflect on their own political views from a range of options from the far right to the far left.
The voting compass is designed by famous sociologist and public opinion expert Dr. Hossein Ghazian, who has been able to accurately measure the sentiments of Iranian citizens during critical moments in Iran’s political history, such as during the presidential elections of 2009.
How does it work?
ManGozin is an online quiz featuring 30 hypothetical questions that reflect various social issues, while the answers reflect political parties’ opinions, from conservative to progressive. Questions range from topics such as infrastructure, health, politics, education, gender equality, domestic policy and foreign policy. Participants’ answers are calculated at the end of the quiz and place each person on a matrix from far right to far left, indicating their personal political standpoint.
You can take the ManGozin quiz by going to the website www.mangozin.com
Raising political consciousness in Iran
The voting quiz makes Iranian citizens realize which issues should be addressed by a democratic government and makes them aware of the variety of opinions and solutions to those issues. Increased political consciousness can help citizens to formulate their criticism on their leaders in a more informed and fundamental way.
