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| Muslim Women Wins Nobel Peace Prize |
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| Moe_D |
| 10/10/03 at 12:55:13 |
| Iranian human rights activist wins Nobel Associated Press TEHRAN (AP) -- A small model of the Statue of Liberty once sat on the desk in the Tehran law office of Shirin Ebadi, the winner of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize. But she often said she would never seek refuge in the West, preferring to stay in her homeland to challenge the ruling clerics for greater rights for women and political freedom. "Our male-dominated society is ill," the 56-year-old activist told a rally in March to mark International Women's Day. "They don't respect the mothers who gave them life." The Nobel distinction -- the first peace prize for an Iranian and first for a Muslim woman -- should give Ebadi greater authority and bring more international attention to her confrontations with clerics and hardliners. "As a lawyer, judge, lecturer, writer and activist, she has spoken out clearly and strongly in her country, Iran, far beyond its borders," the Norwegian Nobel Committee said in its citation. Ebadi, Iran's first female judge, was in Paris when the decision was announced in Oslo. She had been attending a conference that included Iranian films and human rights discussions. "This prize doesn't belong to me only -- it belongs to all people who work for human rights and democracy in Iran," said Ebadi, adding that her opponents should celebrate the prize with her. "In my view, there is no difference between Islam and human rights. Therefore, the religious ones should also welcome this award," she told a news conference. "The prize means you can be a Muslim and at the same time have human rights." Her husband, Javad Tavassolian, called it "a great day for reformers in Iran." Ebadi's 79-year-old mother, Minu Yamini, said the Nobel announcement was just the third time she cried for her daughter. The first was her university graduation. The second was when she was jailed by Iranian authorities in 2000. The family learned of the award through friends. Iranian state media did not immediately report the news. The state-run Islamic Republic News Agency issued only a brief item citing "world news dispatches." "Shirin Ebadi spent 25 years of her life so that rights reign in Iran," said Karim Lahidji, president in exile of the Iranian League for Human Rights and vice-president of the Paris-based International Federation of Human Rights Leagues. "I'm happy that the modern world ... recognizes this struggle and gives her this recognition," added Lahidji, a decades-old friend. Ebadi was born in Hamadan, about 300 kilometres southwest of Tehran, and received her law degree from Tehran University in 1971. She later was appointed the country's first female judge during the rule of the western-allied monarchy. She was forced to resign following the 1979 Islamic Revolution. But she turned her law practice into a base for rights campaigning, particularly for women and children. Ebadi often took cases that other lawyers deemed too sensitive, including groundbreaking proceedings about domestic abuse and the rights of street children and others on the margins of society. Ebadi began defending jailed journalists and activists as Iranian authorities clamped down on dissent following the 1997 election of pro-reform President Mohammad Khatami. Her prominence rose by taking the case of the family of dissident Dariush Farouhar, who was stabbed to death in 1998 along with his wife. The attacks were part of a series of murders against intellectuals. The Intelligence Ministry declared "rogue agents" were involved and several were prosecuted. She also helped pro-reform students who were prosecuted after six days of clashes in 1999 at Tehran University. The unrest, which rattled the ruling theocracy, left one person dead and dozens injured. Ebadi was denounced by hardliners as an enemy of the system. Ebadi and another lawyer, Mohsen Rahami, were arrested in 2000 for alleged links to a widely circulated videotape that purportedly revealed ties between government officials and hardline vigilantes. Ebadi and Rahami were released on bail after three weeks. A court later convicted them of slandering government officials. It suspended their sentences but banned them from practising law for five years. In recent years, Ebadi has stepped up the campaign for women's rights. Although the ruling clerics have loosened many social restrictions -- such as allowing makeup and more interaction between unmarried couples -- women in Iran still face many limits. A woman needs her husband's permission to work or travel abroad and a man's court testimony is considered twice as important as a woman's. The family of a female murder victim receives about half the average compensation -- also known as "blood money" -- that is paid to a male victim's relatives. Iranian men can divorce almost at will, but a woman who wants to divorce must go through a legal battle that can take years and may end with her relinquishing her rights for a divorce. Ebadi has often warned that self-immolation by women has been on the rise due to discrimination against women, particularly in rural areas. No official figures are available on self-immolation. © Copyright 2003 Associated Press |
| 10/10/03 at 12:55:40 |
| Moe_D |
| Re: Muslim Women Wins Nobel Peace Prize |
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| jannah |
| 10/10/03 at 13:02:04 |
| [wlm] Wow interesting news...She sounds like she's doing a good job and fighting for what's right. The article is kind of slanted towards 'pro-westernism' but I guess that's to be expected. I wonder why she received the "peace" prize? Thought that was reserved for people who work towards peace not activism in general. And what is Self-Immolation??? |
| Re: Muslim Women Wins Nobel Peace Prize |
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| ascetic |
| 10/10/03 at 15:57:18 |
| 'self immolation' is where some sets themselves on fire (usually in protest/for a cause etc.) I remember this happened a lot in India during the VP Singh 'Reservation' days. |
| Re: Muslim Women Wins Nobel Peace Prize |
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| Aadhil |
| 10/10/03 at 17:01:40 |
| [slm] I wonder if she will accept the prize. Its definitly haram to accept it since its based on interest, which is one of the biggest sins of a Muslim. Maybe im just being a bit rash, but whats haram is haram. [slm] ;-) |
| 10/10/03 at 17:03:54 |
| Aadhil |
| Re: Muslim Women Wins Nobel Peace Prize |
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| lucid9 |
| 10/11/03 at 06:35:55 |
| [slm] i don't know....but my experience with iranians is that a great many are secretly deeply secular and often outright athiests. i have been to iran and mingled with senior people at prominent iranian universities, and frankly speaking i was shocked by their attitude. it seemed to me that most don't even believe in god, and that many students are likewise agnostic or athiests.... so nowadays whenever i meet so called iranian "intellectuals" i am always confused about whether i should give them "salam" so, i really wonder if this person has any affinity for islam and whether she instead is filled venomous hatred of it like so many there. I don't know her....so i can't comment... but i do know that nobel prize committee have an agenda and they want to influence the politics of iran. i mean for example, they gave anwar sadat a nobel prize while he had thousands upon thousands of people locked up in jail regularly receiving torture for no other reason than distributing pamphlets, holding lectures, etc. Sadat was a beast terrorizing his people, but nobody cared about that, they only cared that he made peace with israal... this state of iran is very disturbing. they religious leaders have made a dog's meal out of the iranian revolution, and having experienced "religious law" people seemed to more turned off by religion than ever. this is why often feel grateful to Allah for not letting the religious parties take control in other muslim countries -- because i deeply feel that their heavy handed tactics and the corruption which will grow around them will deeply turn off muslims from islam.... i don't think most of the religious parties are responsible enough or thoughtful enough or careful enough not to make a mess should they come into power.... i don't know..allahu 'alim |
| Re: Muslim Women Wins Nobel Peace Prize |
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| se7en |
| 10/11/03 at 19:25:43 |
| as salaamu alaykum, [quote]In recent years, Ebadi has stepped up the campaign for women's rights. Although the ruling clerics have loosened many social restrictions -- such as allowing makeup and more interaction between unmarried couples -- women in Iran still face many limits. [/quote] ??? these are the great women's rights she is fighting for? |
| 10/11/03 at 19:26:19 |
| se7en |
| Re: Muslim Women Wins Nobel Peace Prize |
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| panjul |
| 10/13/03 at 19:20:03 |
| [slm] it seemed to me that most don't even believe in god, and that many students are likewise agnostic or athiests.... so nowadays whenever i meet so called iranian "intellectuals" i am always confused about whether i should give them "salam" I have had the same experience. So far I have not met an Iranian who's religious, I'm sure they are out there... Most of the ones I know do not believe in God. In a polite conversation with one, the guy accused the sahabas (even Ali) of being womanizers and worse. That shocked me and made me very >:( Alot of the ones I know changed their first names to american ones. |
| 10/13/03 at 20:11:53 |
| Kathy |
| Re: Muslim Women Wins Nobel Peace Prize |
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| superFOB |
| 10/18/03 at 13:21:25 |
| [slm] Btw, the Nobel peace prize has ALWAYS been a tool of political manipulation. Henry Kissinger, the war criminal, has one. Big deal, I say. http://www.nobel.se/peace/laureates/1973/kissinger-bio.html http://www.zpub.com/un/wanted-hkiss.html super 'cynical' FOB PS: Please quit backbiting the Iranians. |
| 10/18/03 at 13:22:34 |
| superFOB |
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