Farnaz Seifi was arrested as she waited to fly out of a Tehran airport in 2007 . Her crime ? A blog calling for women 's equality in the Islamic Republic of Iran . Originally on her way to a cyber-journalism workshop in India , Seifi , then in her mid-twenties , was transferred to Tehran 's notorious Evin prison and at midnight , the interrogation began . According to the authorities , says Seifi , challenging the inequality and injustice that women face in Iran was `` acting against national security and being a spy for western countries . '' Seifi is one of three women featured in a new documentary , `` Forbidden Voices , '' that follows the lives of female dissident bloggers across the globe . These women pay a high price for their blogs -- suffering violence , harassment and detainment by some of the world 's most repressive regimes . `` They do n't use political propaganda , they do n't make speeches , they do n't try to change things really aggressively -- they are trying to start a dialogue and I think this is why the world started noticing them , '' said Barbara Miller , director of `` Forbidden Voices , '' who was struck by the personal nature of blogging and how it allows ordinary people to talk about the difficulties they face . `` I think this is a way that women tell stories and how women try to change the world . '' Friday marks World Press Freedom Day , and this year the is emphasis is on securing freedom of expression in all media , including a free and open internet -- something Seifi can identify with . She told CNN : `` In countries like my country , you learn to censor yourself from a very early age and you become good at censoring yourself , unfortunately . The Islamic Republic of Iran makes each of us an example of it because we also censor each other . '' `` It 's sad when one day you figure out that you want freedom so badly but you are also part of the censoring system . '' After a series of interrogations and heavy censorship of her blog by the Iranian authorities , Seifi left Iran in 2007 and now lives in Germany . As a women 's activist and blogger means it 's unlikely she will return home while the current Iranian regime is in power . And for her family 's safety she now blogs anonymously . Cuba 's Yoani Sanchez , perhaps the most well-known of the three female bloggers featured in Miller 's film , continues to speak out against the Castro government on her blog , `` Generación Y , '' which receives millions of hits each month . She was finally granted a passport by Cuban authorities in January after 20 failed applications , and her recent high profile trip to the U.S. , where she visited the White House , has turned the media spotlight on the daily struggle of many in communist Cuba . But others remain trapped . Some of the film 's most sinister scenes show Chinese blogger Zeng Jinyan under house arrest in Beijing , harassed by security officials outside her apartment as she tries to leave . When her husband , AIDS and environmental activist Hu Jia , is sentenced to over three years in prison in 2008 , she was is left alone and isolated with their baby daughter and her blog , wondering if they will ever be free . Since then , her blog has been censored in China . In countries where the state has a monopoly on information , blogging has come into its own as a tool for change and an outlet for sharing stories , according to Miller . `` The governments really fear these women . I mean , they are women , talking about their daily lives but the governments fear that they are so outspoken , that they are talking about what 's really happening in their countries '' . A refusal to be censored unites these women across cultures and continents , as they use their blogs to connect with the world outside of the regime . For Miller , the reaction of the authorities is perhaps the strongest indication of the strength of their individual voices . `` I think blogging is an extremely powerful tool , you can reach the whole world with one voice . ''
` `` Generación Y follows lives of female dissident bloggers around world . Female dissident bloggers often suffer violence , detainment by repressive regimes . Film follows Iran 's Farnaz Seifi , Iran 's Farnaz Seifi , Iran 's Farnaz Seifi .