Iranian rights activist wins Nobel prize
The Nobel committee in Oslo said the accolade was for her focus on human rights, especially on the struggle for the rights of women and children.
“As a lawyer, judge, lecturer, writer and activist, she has spoken out clearly and strongly in her country, Iran and far beyond its borders,” the committee said.
It said she has stood up as a “sound professional, a courageous person, and has never heeded the threat to her own safety”.
The 56-year-old was one of the first judges in Iran and received her law degree from the University of Tehran.
“I’m a Muslim, so you can be a Muslim and support democracy,” she said after winning the prize.
“It’s very good for human rights in Iran, especially for children’s rights in Iran. I hope I can be useful,” she said.
The committee said that Ms Ebadi represented reformed Islam, and praised her for arguing for a new interpretation of Islamic law which is in harmony with vital human rights such as democracy and equality before the law.
The prize will be presented to herin Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death in 1896.
Ms Ebadi, married with two grown-up daughters, studied law in Tehran and France before becoming the first female judge in Iran during the Shah’s rule.
She had to resign her position following the revolution in 1979, when conservative Islamic clerics took control of the country and introduced severe restrictions on the role of women in society.
Ms Ebadi then worked as a lawyer, initially specialising in the rights of children and later taking up women’s rights. She took part in the campaign which led to Mohammed Khatami becoming president in 1997.
In December 1998 she played a role in uncovering the murders of dissidents by agents of the Iranian secret service.
She was arrested in 2000 and placed on trial for making and distributing videos of remarks made by a former Islamic militant against members of the regime.
She got an 18-month suspended sentence for “disturbing public opinion”.
The Nobel citation said Ms Ebadi “has consistently supported non-violence. It is fundamental to her view that the supreme political power in a community must be built on democratic elections”.
“Ebadi is a conscious Muslim,” it said. “She sees no conflict between Islam and fundamental human rights. It is a pleasure for the Norwegian Nobel Committee to award the peace prize to a woman who is part of the Muslim world, and of whom that world can be proud,” the citation added.
Last year the peace prize went to former US president Jimmy Carter.
