World leaders praise peace prize lawyer

Activists and world leaders have hailed the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Iranian human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi as a boost for democracy and equal rights in the Middle East.

They said it would bring new attention to Muslim activists who had been toiling in obscurity for decades.

“It is a victory for women in general and Muslim women in particular,” said Siham Hattab, an English literature professor at Baghdad’s al-Mustansiriya University and a member of the Iraqi capital’s city council. “Injustice exists at all times and in all places, but this gives us hope that justice will triumph.”

Ebadi, 56, the first Muslim woman to win the prize, was the first female judge in Iran. She was cited yesterday by the Nobel Committee for her focus on human rights, especially the struggle for the rights of women and children. At home, she is admired for confronting Muslim clerics and hardliners.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan described Ebadi as a ”courageous woman” whose Nobel win would hopefully underscore the importance of expanding human rights and women’s rights throughout the world.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell said: “We are very pleased to see the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to this very, very dedicated and committed woman who has spent so much of her life in the cause of justice and freedom.”

Hisham Kassem, head of the Egyptian Organisation of Human Rights, said women activists had been struggling for their rights and freedoms in the Middle East since the early 20th century.

“This is a recognition for what they do, a sort of apology for ignoring them for so long,” he said.

Yesterday’s award had wider political implications, with some interpreting it as a show of support for democratic – and pro-Western – impulses in the Muslim world, where autocratic government is common and women can be harshly restricted in employment and dress by conservative religious laws.

Those impulses have assumed greater importance as the West confronts radical forces in Islam in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

Austrian Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner said Ebadi’s prize “demonstrates the meaning of women’s rights as human rights, and that’s a sign for the Islamic world”.

German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder congratulated Ebadi in a telegram extolling her “commitment to tolerant coexistence and … understanding between cultures”.

Rana Husseini, a prominent women’s activist and journalist in Jordan, urged Ebadi to use the award to “become the envoy of peace in the world and in particular in our region”.

Last year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, former US president Jimmy Carter, issued a statement saying, “She proves that one person, standing on principle, can make a positive difference in the lives of many.”

Amnesty International, the London-based human rights group, said the prize showed the Nobel Committee had recognised the critical importance of human rights and those who defend them.

“Coming at a time when human rights principles are increasingly under threat, this award will bring renewed hope to those engaged in the daily fight to uphold human rights,” the group said in a statement.

Ebadi received Human Rights Watch’s highest award in 1996, and its associate director, Carroll Bogert, called her “a brave advocate for human rights in a very hostile environment”.

“We hope it sends a message to the Iranian government that the very serious human rights violations in Iran will not be tolerated by the human rights community,” Bogert said.

Not everyone, however, cheered Ebadi’s award.

Egypt’s first female judge, Tahany el-Gebaly, said there were more deserving activists in the Middle East, but Ebadi was chosen because her views were acceptable to the West.

“There are many fiery Muslims whose actions and positions are a lot more outspoken, but because they are anti-West, or anti-American ... they get no attention,” she said.