The Nobel Peace Prize for 2003 - 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 of 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.

Shirin Ebadi the Iranian human rights lawyer was shocked to hear the news that she had won the US1.3 million dollars Nobel Prize for Peace. She was awarded the prize out of a field of 156 candidates. Ebadi spoke with NEWSWEEK about the situation in Iran and the impact of the award on the people of Iran.

NEWSWEEK: Is your prize a watershed for democracy in Iran?

SHIRIN EBADI:

I hope it is. I always acted within the law; I never did anything that was illegal. support peaceful protests. But when things go wrong I’m there to defend the victims, for free. In 1999, when the student dormitories were attacked, I defended one of the victim’s family in court and this is what led me to be jailed. So I hope that this prize will give supporters of human rights in Iran the courage and the energy to continue. As a matter of fact, the biggest benefit of this prize is to show that it is still possible to stay in Iran and work for the advancement of human rights there.

NEWSWEEK: Do you think that the regime can reform itself or is it stuck in a deadlock between the reformers and the old guard?

SHIRIN EBADI: I believe that it still is possible to bring reform to the regime, but it is now high time for action as well as pragmatic thinking. Even in Iran where there hasn’t been any significant reform, the number of people who support reform has increased. It gives me hope that it will eventually happen.

NEWSWEEK: Can human rights exist in an Islamic republic?

SHIRIN EBADI: There is no contradiction between an Islamic republic, Islam and human rights. If in many Islamic countries human rights are flouted, this is because of a wrong interpretation of Islam. All I’ve tried to do in the last 20 years was to prove that with another interpretation of Islam, it would be possible to introduce democracy to Muslim countries. We need an interpretation of Islam that leaves much more space for women to take action. We need an Islam that is compatible with democracy and one that’s respectful of individual rights.

NEWSWEEK: You didn’t cover your head with the hijab, or veil, at the press conference. Did you want to make a statement?

SHIRIN EBADI: Inside Iran, a woman is required by law to wear the hijab so I wear it. But as I mentioned, I believe that with a more progressive interpretation of Islam we can change this. I believe that it is up to individual women to decide whether they want to wear the hijab or not.

NEWSWEEK: What do you think will happen when you return to Iran? Are you scared?

SHIRIN EBADI: Everything happened so quickly that I haven’t even had time to really think about it. I am not scared at all and I don’t care so much about what happens to me. I will go back to Iran because I am Iranian and I want to die in my country. Imagine you’re home and your mother is a sick old woman whereas your neighbour next door is a younger more dynamic mother. Still, you’ll stay with your sick old mother because she is your mother. When I’m in Paris, where thanks to the French Revolution people have all rights, of course I enjoy it and I’m happy. But it is not my home.

NEWSWEEK: What is your hope for the future of Iran?

SHIRIN EBADI: I hope that young Iranians can go further than me. My generation had very little means to keep itself informed. When I was young we had neither computers nor the Internet. Our only source of information was a small library at the University. So I hope that today’s young people can do much more and do better for our country than I did.