After a vigorous selection process, about a dozen mobile applications were selected as winners of the IranCubator 1.0 Contest.
They range from applications that support women’s health to apps that provide resources to victims of domestic violence, recovering addicts, parents who want to better protect their children from sexual abuse, and much more. We are only featuring seven apps though we incubated 10 apps. Security concerns for the developers and users prevent us from revealing all of the apps that have been incubated and launched as part of IranCubator 1.0.
Hamdam app: a companion for every Iranian woman
Hamdam helps Iranian women stay healthy, protect their rights, and maintain their dignity. Hamdam is a one-stop-shop for information related to the reproductive and legal rights of Iranian women. It empowers women to track their menstrual cycle, sexual health, and learn about different contraceptive methods. In addition, it helps women navigate Iran’s discriminatory legal structures with information to help empower their lives. Hamdam provides sample legal language to be included in marriage contracts to ensure that women have equal rights in marriage with respect to employment, education, divorce, custody, division of assets, and more. Hamdam was created by our committed partners at ASL19 and the incredibly dedicated women’s rights activist, Soudeh Rad.
Haami helps Iranians struggling with addiction to dial back temptation and offers them buffers against triggers that can spark a relapse. Haami, which means ally in Persian, offers a range of resources to recovering addicts, including a tried and tested roadmap to sobriety through Narcotics Anonymous’ Basic Text, and other educational information. A section of the app is dedicated to supporting family, friends, and allies of recovering addicts. Health ministry officials in Iran estimate there are 2.2 million drug addicts in the country of 80 million. However, doctors working with recovering addicts believe the actual figures are higher. Haami offers an index of recovery centers in various Iranian cities and provinces. The app has a feature, called “I’m Not Ok,” for those who are experiencing an immediate urge to use. In this section, app users can find inspirational stories of people who have successfully been able to stay clean for many years.
Michka aids adults who want to teach their children how to identify and report sexual abuse.Michka, an e-book and computer game, tells the story of a gender-neutral insect whose wings are a private part that should not be touched by others. When one day Mr. Koopoom, an adult insect, touches Michka’s wings, Michka becomes confused about what it should do. The story tells a tale of how children can talk to their parents about things that are confusing.
Sahar Shams, the project lead behind Michka, is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. She created the app as a resource for Iranian parents to talk about the difficult topic of sexual abuse in a language that is appropriate, understandable and non-threatening for children.
Toranj app: a new line of defense against violence
Toranj is a groundbreaking mobile app that allows women, members of the LGBTQ community, and anyone at risk of violence in Iran to receive immediate help when in danger. With the push of a button, the app safely and discreetly sends out a series of text messages to the selected contacts or the police, notifying them of the danger and the location of the victim. Toranj offers special resources to victims of domestic abuse including a database of legal aid and social workers who provide pro bono help, as well as legal documents and sample briefings that guide victims to get out of an abusive marriage.
Toranj was created by our dedicated partners at NetFreedom Pioneers.
RadiTo app: a pirate podcast app to take on Iran’s censors
RadiTo, which means “Radio You” in Persian, was IranCubator’s first app. It serves as an audio-only Iranian YouTube app for illicit ideas and entertainment. RadiTo is an Android app uniquely suited to the conditions of Iran’s internet: it navigates slow, expensive data connections to offer censorship-free podcasts to a wide range of audiences. The app’s interface not only offers Farsi and English, but four other Iranian minority languages as well. RadiTo allows users to download content and listen offline, which is a crucial setting in a country where intentional government throttling slows internet speeds.
Defying government repression is a risky task. Hafez is designed to provide human rights defenders with additional layers of protection to address their strategic needs. Anyone with an Android phone, which is the majority of people in Iran, can use Hafez to: record and securely report incidents of human rights violations, access an extensive digital rolodex of attorneys and their areas of expertise, receive the latest human rights-related reports and news without needing to use internet censorship circumvention tools; and more.
The security of our users is our number one priority. You can review Hafez’ extensive security report, carried by the cybersecurity firm Cure53. Once a user closes the app, all the information reported will be deleted.
Sandoogh96 app: unbiased news and information in the palm of voters’ hands
Six weeks before Iran’s presidential election, IranCubator released Sandoogh96 -Vote2017- to empower voters with information to ignore political propaganda. Iranians elect their officials in a country where the government has a strong control over the media and information. Sandoogh96 offered balance, and up-to-date election news related to the presidential and city council candidates. The app had a “find a match” feature which allowed eligible voters to identify the candidates that were most aligned with them on issues of economy, foreign policy, women’s rights, domestic policy and education. The app offered profiles and biographies on each of the candidates.
Sandoogh96 was created by our partners at IranWire and Small Media.
