Female Iranian lawyer accepts Nobel Peace Prize

IRAN’S Shirin Ebadi became the first Muslim woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize yesterday and sent a bold anti-war message to the West, accusing it of hiding behind the September 11 attacks to violate human rights.

Reformist lawyer Ms Ebadi was handed the 1.2 million prize and a gold medal by the head of the Norwegian Nobel Committee at a glittering ceremony at Oslo City Hall.

A tireless campaigner for women’s and children’s rights, Ms Ebadi has challenged fundamental articles of Iranian law such as those saying a woman’s life is worth half that of a man or that a woman needs her husband’s permission to leave the country.