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Rights Activist Is First Muslim Woman to Win
Paris, Oct 10, (FT) – Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian human rights activist, on Friday became the first Muslim woman to win the Nobel peace prize, in a move designed to inspire democratic reforms across the Muslim world.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee cited her commitment to democracy and human rights, and in particular her efforts on behalf of women and children.
Since the September 11 attacks on the US, the search for a Muslim recipient of the peace prize had intensified to balance a bias towards western, male recipients, said Stein Tonnesson, director of the International Peace Research Institute in Oslo.
Only two other Muslims have won the prize - Anwar Sadat of Egypt in 1978 and Yassir Arafat, Palestinian Authority president, in 1994 (who shared the award with others) - and only 10 other women since the award was first made in 1901.
Mrs. Ebadi, 56, is a lawyer, writer and lecturer at Tehran University. She was Iran's first woman judge before being forced to step down after the Islamic revolution in 1979 and has since acted as a defence lawyer to political activists. "The prize means you can be a Muslim and at the same time have human rights," she told a news conference in Paris.
The choice was welcomed by human rights groups and political leaders, but the reaction in Iran was mixed. "As an Iranian, I am very happy that a Muslim and Iranian woman should win the Nobel prize, as this reflects the extremely important role of Iranian women in our social and political life," Mohammad Ali Abtahi, vice-president, told the FT.
But Iranian state television last night chose not to report news of the SKr10m ($1.3m) award.
Elahe Kulaie, a leading woman member of parliament, praised the Nobel committee for its "understanding of Iranian society" but warned that "hardliners" in Iran might accuse Mrs Ebadi of "being backed by western countries".
Egypt's first female judge, Tahany el-Gebaly, complained that Mrs Ebadi had been chosen ahead of "many fiery Muslims whose actions and positions are a lot more outspoken, but who are anti-American or [against] western policy in the region".
In the US the Bush administration , which accuses Iran of constituting an "axis of evil" with North Korea, congratulated Mrs Ebadi and called for a democratic transformation of the Islamic republic.
"We fully support the aspirations of the Iranian people to live in freedom, and hope their call for democracy will be heard and transform Iran into a force for stability in the region," the US State Department said.
However, Lech Walesa, former Polish president and 1983 peace laureate, said the award should have gone to the Pope.
The Norwegian Nobel committee called Mrs. Ebadi "courageous", saying she had ignored threats to her own safety. "We hope the prize will be an inspiration for all those who struggle for human rights and democracy in her country, in the Muslim world, and in all countries where the fight for human rights needs inspiration and support," it said.
As a lawyer since 1984, Mrs. Ebadi, a mother and committed Muslim, has taken up a variety of cases, driven by a belief that equal rights for women and children are compatible with Islam.
She has worked closely with members of parliament and senior clerics to revise laws governing divorce and inheritance rights, and to end "blood money" and execution by stoning.
Her public campaigning of recent years has reflected a new openness in Iranian society fostered by Mohammad Khatami, the reformist president elected in 1997.
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