IRANIAN HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST WINS NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

October 10, 2003 – (UN Wire) Shirin Ebadi, a human rights activist and one of Iran's first female judges, on Friday was awarded the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize for her work on children's and women's rights, becoming the first Iranian and the first Muslim woman to receive the prize.

Ebadi has been an activist for democracy and the rights of women and children since the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution.

"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.

She has also argued for a new interpretation of Islamic law that protects fundamental human rights, making her a frequent target of attacks from hard-liners and conservative clerics. In 2000 Ebadi was arrested and given suspended sentences, and was also banned from working as a lawyer for a period of five years. The Associated Press said it was unclear whether she had been reinstated.

"I'm a Muslim, so you can be a Muslim and support democracy," she told Norwegian television after winning the prize. "It's very good for human rights in Iran, especially for children's rights in Iran. I hope I can be useful."

Pope John Paul II generally had been favored to win the prize, perhaps the world's highest accolade, but committee chairman Ole Danbolt Mjoes said the decision to award Ebadi the prize was an easy one.

"This is a question of fundamental rights about women, about fundamental rights of children and mothers," he said. "I hope the award of the peace to Ebadi can help strengthen and lend support to the cause of human rights in Iran" (Doug Mellgren, AP/Yahoo! News, Oct. 10).

The Australian betting agency Centerbet had put odds of 5-2 on the pope to win the award. Former Czech President had been given 7-1 odds, and Irish rock star Bono and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva were 10-1 choices (Alister Doyle, Reuters/Washington Post, Oct. 9).

From: http://www.unwire.org/News/328_426_9335.asp