The Nobel
Peace Prize 2003
Shirin Ebadi
RAHA/11/October/2003
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel
Peace Prize for 2003 to Shirin Ebadi for her efforts for democracy
and human rights. She has focused 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. She has
stood up as a sound professional, a courageous person, and has never
heeded the threats to her own safety.
Her principal arena is
the struggle for basic human rights, and no society deserves to be
labelled civilized unless the rights of women and children are
respected. In an era of violence, she 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. She favours enlightenment and dialogue as the best path
to changing attitudes and resolving conflict.
Ebadi is a conscious
Moslem. She sees no conflict between Islam and fundamental human
rights. It is important to her that the dialogue between the
different cultures and religions of the world should take as its
point of departure their shared values. It is a pleasure for the
Norwegian Nobel Committee to award the Peace Prize to a woman who is
part of the Moslem world, and of whom that world can be proud -
along with all who fight for human rights wherever they live.
During recent decades,
democracy and human rights have advanced in various parts of the
world. By its awards of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel
Committee has attempted to speed up this process.
We hope that the people
of Iran will feel joyous that for the first time in history one of
their citizens has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and we hope
the Prize will be an inspiration for all those who struggle for
human rights and democracy in her country, in the Moslem world, and
in all countries where the fight for human rights needs inspiration
and support.
Oslo, 10 October 2003
Biography
SHIRIN EBADI
The Iranian lawyer and
human rights activist Shirin Ebadi was born in 1947. She received a
law degree from the University of Tehran. In the years 1975-79 she
served as president of the city court of Tehran, one the first
female judges in Iran. After the revolution in 1979 she was forced
to resign. She now works as a lawyer and also teaches at the
University of Tehran.
Both in her research and
as an activist, she is known for promoting peaceful, democratic
solutions to serious problems in society. She takes an active part
in the public debate and is well-known and admired by the general
public in her country for her defence in court of victims of the
conservative faction's attack on freedom of speech and political
freedom.
Ebadi represents Reformed
Islam, and argues for a new interpretation of Islamic law which is
in harmony with vital human rights such as democracy, equality
before the law, religious freedom and freedom of speech. As for
religious freedom, it should be noted that Ebadi also includes the
rights of members of the bahai community, which has had problems in
Iran ever since its foundation.
Ebadi is an activist for
refugee rights, as well as those of women and children. She is the
founder and leader of the Association for Support of Children's
Rights in Iran. Ebadi has written a number of academic books and
articles focused on human rights. Among her books translated into
English are The Rights of the Child. A Study of Legal Aspects of
Children's Rights in Iran (Tehran, 1994), published with support
from UNICEF, and History and Documentation of Human Rights in Iran
(New York, 2000).
As a lawyer, she has been
involved in a number of controversial political cases. She was the
attorney of the families of the writers and intellectuals who were
victims of the serial murders in 1999-2000. She has worked actively
- and successfully - to reveal the principals behind the attack on
the students at Tehran University in 1999 where several students
died. As a consequence, Ebadi has been imprisoned on numerous
occasions.
With Islam as her
starting point, Ebadi campaigns for peaceful solutions to social
problems, and promotes new thinking on Islamic terms. She has
displayed great personal courage as a lawyer defending individuals
and groups who have fallen victim to a powerful political and legal
system that is legitimized through an inhumane interpretation of
Islam. Ebadi has shown her willingness and ability to cooperate with
representatives of secular as well as religious views.
Oslo, 10 October 2003
Source:
THE
NORWEGIAN NOBEL COMMITTEE |
RAHA